Jagged Edges Heal
by twifantasyfan
Summary: She had been lost in the woods, abandoned and shattered.  He had everything he believed about himself torn to shreds.  Are they both broken beyond repair, or can they each heal the jagged edges of each others souls?
1. Lost and Found

AN: AN: Much as I wish I did, I don't own Twilight or anything related to it (besides my stories). I started this story idea when I was stuck with some writers' block for chapter 60 of "The Wolf and His Girl", but I decided not to post it then so I could focus on getting that story completed first.

Writing my Jared story has really helped me see how much I like the wolf pack. This gives me the chance to play with them again, but in a different vein than I have with either of my other stories. I have in mind to move on to other pack members after this is finished.

Sorry it's taken this long since I finished "The Wolf and His Girl" to get this story started. I got caught up in revising "Wolf" to post a more mature and polished version on the Jacob-Black-N-Pack and Twilighted sites (same penname and story title if you're interested in checking it out). Then, I was wrapping up my final few weeks of graduate school (I graduated yesterday). And…I ended up deciding that the teaser chapter I'd posted in "Possibilities" wasn't really how I wanted to start this story after all. So that meant coming up with how I did want it to begin. I've now figured that out, so here you are: the first chapter of "Jagged Edges Heal".

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So, to set this up: Twilight happened like SM wrote it. But in this story, the Cullens moved on early in the summer (instead of in the fall like in New Moon). Anyway, here you go (hoping for lots of OMG's like MC7575 gave when I showed her part of this back in early March).

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Sam POV

I walked in the front door of my cabin to the sight of my wife Emily bending over the oven to remove a tray of cookies and to the sound of the phone ringing over the babbling of our baby son Levi.

"Uley here," I answered the phone.

"Did you hear?" Jared demanded.

"Hear what?" I demanded of my Beta.

"They're gone!" Jared was stoked.

"They who?"

"The Cullens, of course. My mom was in town today, and apparently the doc resigned from the hospital. Something about getting a new job offer down in Los Angeles. They're already down there."

"Gone?" I sagged back against the kitchen counter, unable to truly believe it, even though I knew Jared wouldn't lie about something this important. "Jared, I want you to take a run up near their place—try to see if it's true."

"On it."

"What was that about?" Emily asked me.

"It looks like the Cullens may have moved away. We're checking it out."

Before long, both Paul and Jared were running into my house. "They're gone!" Paul crowed.

"House is empty, and the furniture is all covered up with sheets. Cars are gone from the garage—man, that was a huge garage; wonder how many cars they had?"

It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I reached for Emily and spun her in a circle, kissing her soundly once I'd set her back on the ground. "This calls for a celebration. Em, can you pull some stuff together for a picnic on the beach? I'd say this news calls for a bonfire."

"Sure."

Emily gave Kim, Jared's imprint, a call, and between them they pulled a spread together. My mom was recruited to babysit for the night. The guys and I went down to the beach to pile up the driftwood for the fire. It ended up that we weren't the only ones to gather on the beach. Even though we were among the few, other than the elders, who knew what the Cullens really were, others had felt uneasy around the Cullens whenever they'd been encountered in town.

Emily and I left the party a while after dark, abandoning the group in favor of a private celebration. We were just stepping up on the porch when I heard the phone ringing inside. I mentally groaned, even as I reached to answer it. "Sam Uley here."

"Sam, it's Billy," the voice of our elder was stressed, with a touch of panic.

"Billy? What is it? Is something wrong?"

"I got a call from Charlie Swan. His daughter Bella went for a walk in the woods after school, with her boyfriend. Her note said she wouldn't be gone long, but it's dark now and she still isn't back."

"The Cullens left town, Billy," I informed him, his panic sparking my own. Had they kidnapped the girl? Killed her?

"What?" he was stunned. "Sam, will you and the boys—"

"On our way." I hung up and turned to Emily, relaying the news to her. Heading outside, I stripped and phased as soon as I hit the trees, howling to get Jared's and Paul's attention.

_'sup, boss?_ Paul asked. _Thought we were off for the night?_

_What's up? _Jared asked a moment later, once he'd phased into the pack mind. His under-thoughts complained about being pulled away from Kim—I understood and shared his feeling, but wasn't indulging either of us.

_Bella Swan went for a walk in the woods with her leech boyfriend after school; she isn't back yet. Her dad's got a search started, and Billy asked us to help._

_Think he snapped and killed her? That why they left so fast?_

_Paul!_ Even though he was just saying what I'd already thought, it wasn't something I wanted to consider. Charlie Swan was a good friend to two of our elders, Billy and Harry Clearwater, and even if she had associated with the vampires willingly, she didn't deserve such a fate.

_What's the plan, Sam?_ Jared asked.

Our best bet was to start where Bella had last been at for sure: at her house, and follow the scent trail. We met up and ran that way. Fortunately for us, the forest backed up to the Swan house, so we wouldn't have to risk revealing ourselves.

_Blech!_

_Gross!_

Our noses caught the strong stench of vampire, layered over progressively older trails of the same odor.

_It's like a stinking red carpet,_ Paul complained.

_Heads in a straight line to that tree beside the house,_ Jared noted. I was grateful he was my Beta instead of Paul; Jared had a cooler head, and used it.

_Not important now. Find her scent,_ I ordered

_Got it,_ Jared reported a minute later. _It's mixed with his, heading down this trail._

_Follow it._

We tracked the mingled scents a short distance into the trees. Looking back, I could catch a clear glimpse of the house. The two scents thickly permeated the small clearing, so they'd obviously spent a while here today. _Where did they go from here?_

_His heads off this way, _Paul announced.

_Hers heads…this way,_ Jared jerked his head in a slightly different direction than Paul had indicated. _What was she doing?_

_Following him?_ I wondered. _But why?_ I shook it off. She had left this clearing alive, at the very least; why she'd come to be here, and why she'd left could wait until we found her.

We put our noses down, tracking Bella's scent. I took the center, while Jared and Paul flanked me; I wasn't taking the chance on missing her if she had changed her course.

_We've gone, what, a couple miles now? _Jared noted.

_Yeah,_ I agreed.

_Wonder how she managed it?_

I moved around a tree and almost stepped on her. The small figure was curled in a hollow beside a fallen tree. She was completely motionless. Her clothes were damp, and covered in mud and forest debris. _Found her,_ I reported to my brothers.

_Is she alive? _Paul wanted to know.

_Yes, she's alive._ I regarded her for a moment, noting her barely detectable respiration. My glance lingered for a reason I couldn't determine. I didn't know why, but somehow, she was important to me—to us. The feeling reminded me some of how I felt about Emily—no, it was how Paul and Jared felt about Emily, how Paul and I felt toward Kim.

_You think she's an imprint? _Jared considered the idea, automatically thinking about Paul, the only one of us who didn't have an imprint.

_Uh-uh,_ Paul denied. _Not me._

_I don't know,_ I replied. _You'll have to look at her to be sure. I could be wrong about the feeling, or maybe it just means we'll get another brother and she'll belong to him._

_Why would anyone else join us? The bloodsuckers are gone?_

_I don't know. We'll see. Either way, we need to get her out of the woods. I'm going to phase back. She'll have to be carried home; she's in no shape to walk._

Neither argued with me; they could see in my mind how bad off she was.

_You two head home. Let Emily know what's going on._ I backed away from the girl and retreated around the tree to phase. Dressing quickly, I returned to her, bending down next to the form that still hadn't so much as twitched.

"Bella? Bella, I'm Sam Uley. I'm a friend of Billy Black. I came to find you and get you home." She offered no indication of awareness. I picked her up and began retracing my path back to her house, keeping a good pace, but slower than I could as a wolf. I was nearly there when I heard soft, heavy footfalls. I looked over to see Paul's grey shape emerge from the darkness, followed by Jared's brown form. He was carrying a backpack, the strap between his teeth. With a toss of his head, it flew to land at my feet. I crouched, balancing Bella, and reached for it. Now dressed in his cut-offs, Paul crouched to help me.

"Cover," he explained, while pulling out a shirt, boots, flashlight, and a GPS unit. "Can't have you walking out of the woods with her in only a pair of shorts. People would notice if a barefoot guy found her with no equipment."

"Good point," I agreed. I passed Bella over to him, and quickly donned the boots and shirt. Reaching to take her back, I saw that her eyes were now open, but were completely dark and empty. My heart clenched—no one alive deserved to carry such an expression. "Might as well get it over with," I suggested. Paul grimaced, but looked down at her, then sighed in relief when nothing happened.

Settling the girl back into my arms and the backpack over my shoulder, I covered the rest of the distance to the Swans' yard, Jared and Paul following me as soon as they'd pulled on the clothes from the pack Jared had carried. When we were clear of the trees, I caught the eye of Harry Clearwater, who was standing next to Charlie Swan and his police cruiser.

"Charlie," Harry said, pointing in my direction. Charlie's eyes followed the gesture, then started running toward me as soon as he registered who I was carrying.

"Sam? How did you find her?" Charlie pulled up next to me, hands reaching out toward his daughter.

"Billy called us out. We got lucky and ran across her. Charlie, we need to get her inside and have a doctor check her out. She's soaked and it looks like she fell down. I didn't feel any broken bones or find any blood, but she hasn't responded to us."

"Thank you, boys," Charlie offered, distractedly, already turning toward the house with Bella now cradled against him.

"No problem," I replied, though I doubted he heard me. Harry nodded in thanks, before turning to follow Charlie, and his nurse-wife Sue, into the house. I saw Billy sitting in his wheelchair nearby, his son Jacob beside him. Jacob looked at the three of us suspiciously, and I wondered again if the girl might be a future imprint, might be _Jacob's_ imprint. However glad I was to have Emily, and Jared to have Kim, neither of us wanted this potential imprinting, not if it meant that another of us would lose control of his life. We lost ourselves in the crowd of searchers heading for their homes, ducking into the dark forest to head home to way we'd come here.

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I hope you enjoyed this. I know we didn't see either of our featured pairing in this chapter, but that will come. This just sets things up. I hope to keep a nice and consistent updating schedule with this story. Reviews are welcomed and appreciated.


	2. A Father's Pain

AN: Wow, the responses to the first chapter were great. Wonderful to see so many readers following over from "Wolf and His Girl". I hope you enjoy this update. I had planned on having this out around Christmas, but I ended up changing most of what went into this chapter; sorry for the delay.

I did make a few small changes to the Sam/Emily part of the first chapter. You might want to check them out, as they may impact future elements of the story.

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Narrator POV

Being a small-town cop made Charlie neither unobservant nor unintelligent. He had _known_ there were strange things about the Cullens, right from the start. It wasn't natural for _anyone_ to be that good-looking, let alone a whole family. And people as rich as they were—that huge house, all those cars—just didn't move to a speck-on-the-map town like Forks. And doctors as skilled as Carlisle Cullen had been didn't end up in tiny hospitals like the one in Forks, working for a mere pittance of what he could earn at in a big-city facility, yet somehow they'd been that fortunate.

Charlie had cared enough for this town to want the best for its residents, to welcome the Cullens and defend them against those who would have ostracized them more than they'd done themselves. He'd even fought with, and been estranged from, one of his dearest friends, Billy Black. He'd never understood Billy's unreasonable and unrelenting hostility for Dr. Cullen—a hatred that had extended to a refusal to use the hospital in Forks and instead make his not-yet-legal son Jake drive him to Port Angeles and back for his dialysis treatments; Billy had even convinced most of his tribe to avoid the hospital as well.

And that whole business of Dr. Cullen and his wife adopting _five_ teenagers? Granted, they'd been extremely well-behaved teenagers—too much so really, other than those times of being caught speeding, which had been yet another oddity. But really, what parents bought monster off-road jeeps and flashy convertibles for their teens?

Charlie Swan scrubbed his face with his hands and wondered when his life had started to spin so out of control. He just couldn't figure it out. And sitting here in the Forks hospital, watching his only daughter fight for her life, wasn't helping. _How could this happen?_ He groaned.

"She'll be alright, Charlie," Sue, his friend Harry's wife told him from her seat nearby. "Bella's strong."

Once, and not too long ago at that, Charlie would have agreed with her. Now…? Now Bella was broken, sick, perhaps even...no, he couldn't even think the word, and there was nothing he could do about it. Had there been a decision he could have made differently, something he could have done that he hadn't, that might have changed all this? But as hard as he wracked his brain, he couldn't think of anything.

He was realistic enough to know that he was probably paying for not being more involved in Bella's life while she was growing up, for not putting up more of a fight when Renee left and took Bella with her. He knew his ex-wife had given Bella a lot of freedom and independence, and he hadn't wanted to stifle her, hadn't wanted to give his daughter a reason to regret her decision to move here to finish high school. If he'd been a true father to Bella, maybe he could have kept her from getting sucked in so deeply with that Edwin. Bella hadn't had a boyfriend before—at least not that he recalled ever hearing about, so perhaps her absorption with the Cullen boy had been understandable. But that whole business had been something else odd: how all of those kids had ignored their peers here…until Bella arrived. Within just a few weeks she'd started dating Edwin, doing things exclusively with his family—even things she wouldn't have ordinarily done: play sports, go shopping, run away to Phoenix…

Bella's injuries in Phoenix had never made sense, either. Klutzy she might be, but falling down a flight or two of stairs? Hotels had elevators, didn't they? Tumbling through a window? Didn't businesses invest in shatter-resistant glass? And to have all that happen, yet for a few bumps, a broken leg, and that strange cut on her wrist to be her only injuries? A cut that almost looked like a bite, with teeth marks? Even if her arm had been flailing around during her fall, there was no way at all that she could have bit into her own wrist.

Wisps of old stories from his childhood flitted through Charlie's mind, fireside tales told during the days when he and Billy, Harry and Quil IV had all grown up together. Flitted into his mind and out again, unimportant right now: his daughter was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for her life. Even more than the hospital business, Charlie suspected that Billy might even have tried to interfere in Bella's relationship with that youngest Cullen boy. Somehow, though, he didn't blame his old friend for that one; rather, Charlie only wished he'd succeeded, or that he himself had done the same. Maybe if he had…

After Sam Uley and his friends had miraculously found Bella in the forest—yet another oddity—Charlie had done just what Sam had suggested, gotten Bella dried off and warmed up, and looked at by Dr. Gerandy. There were a few developing bruises from falls she'd taken, but otherwise no explanation for Bella's unresponsiveness. The only words she'd spoken had been, "He's gone." She'd been put to bed with the expectation that she would be better in the morning and could tell them what had happened. Charlie knew Bella hadn't slept that night—because neither had he. She'd been exactly the same the next day, and the one after that. Catatonia was a murmured possibility from Dr. Gerandy. Then, it had gotten worse. The exposure, her wet clothes, and her reaction had all combined into a cold that had quickly spiraled into a cough, fever, and chills. When Bella had started having trouble breathing, Charlie had rushed her to the hospital, to be told she'd developed pneumonia. Now she was hooked up to all sorts of wires and tubes, getting oxygen, medication, and fluids. Worst of all, Bella was still oblivious to the world around her, even when the doctors said she ought to be improving.

Her mother had flown out from Florida as soon as Charlie had called her about Bella's condition. Charlie was grateful that his ex-wife had dropped everything to come be with their daughter. Renee was back with Bella now, giving Charlie a break.

Rubber squeaking made Charlie look up, expecting to see a nurse approaching. Instead…_speak of the devil_…it was Billy being pushed by Jacob.

"How is she?" Billy asked.

"The same," Charlie mumbled. "Medication should be working, but she won't wake up. It's like he took her with him when he left."

Billy reached out and gripped his friend's arm. "She'll get through this," he pronounced.

Charlie looked up and their eyes met. In both minds was the memory of the last time they'd been like this: back eight years earlier when Billy's wife had been hurt in a car accident; sadly, Sarah had succumbed to her injuries, leaving behind her husband, twin daughters, and young son.

"She'll be okay, Charlie," Billy said, again. "She's lost something, yes, but people can help with that—others have lost someone they cared about, too."

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Jacob POV

He slipped out of the waiting area and just started walking. He didn't have a destination in mind, and his feet carried him down a hallway. When he stopped, Jacob looked at the wall. On a strip of tape was written "Swan, I". He blinked, before realizing that this was Bella's room; the "I" had thrown him—Bella hated her given name. A quick glance both ways down the hall, and he slipped inside.

Jacob's heart clenched at the sight before him. Bella was lying motionless on the bed, the monitor beside her beeping steadily. That noise, and the slight movement of her chest up and down were the only signs that a living person was present. This wasn't Bella—it couldn't be. Bella was lively and clumsy. She was funny and beautiful…not this broken creature. He looked around the room, a little surprised to see that no one else was here.

"What happened to you, Bella?" he whispered. "What did he do to you?" That the Cullen was responsible for this was a certainty in Jacob's mind. She'd been fine when she left that note for her dad, and unconscious when Sam Uley and his goons had carried her out of the forest hours later. Jacob's fists clenched with the desire to land them in the perfect face of that Cullen jerk. He just knew Cullen was why Bella hadn't come back down to La Push after that one beach trip with her friends from school. And he definitely hadn't liked Jacob sort-of crashing the Forks prom a month back. Jake couldn't figure out why his dad had wanted him to deliver a message—much less that message—to Bella. She'd been nicer about it than Billy had probably deserved, and hadn't even blamed him for being the messenger. Cullen, though…he'd been pissed. Polite, but pissed; almost like he knew why Jake had been there and resented it. Had he been scared that Bella would take Billy's advice anyway, and decided to beat her to the punch? Could he really have been that much of a bastard?

"Hey, Bells," Jacob whispered. "You wanna wake up? Charlie's really worried about you. Everyone is, really. Me, too. C'mon, Bells. I miss you." Jacob had, if he were honest about it, had a crush on Bella for years, even though he'd seen her only rarely. He'd never said anything to anyone about it; his friends would just have teased him and Bella had been so pretty—and just that smidge older than him—that he'd been a little intimidated to even dare to say anything to her about it.

"Young man, what are you doing in here?"

Jacob spun around when the nurse startled him. "I'm her friend. I just needed to see her, tell her she needs to get better and wake up." He piled on the charm and she relaxed some.

"That's sweet of you, but only family can be here right now."

Jacob nodded glumly and started to head for the door. He jumped when another door opened right beside him. A chestnut-haired woman emerged, puffy eyes going wide when she saw him. He hadn't seen her since he was a toddler, but somehow he knew she had to be Bella's mom. He couldn't think of her name, though. "You're Bella's mom, right?"

She nodded. "Renee Dwyer."

That's right: Bella had moved up here after her mom had gotten married again. "I'm Jacob Black."

Her eyes widened again. "Jacob? My, you've grown up."

"Senior this year," he agreed.

"You can't be!"

"Rez school has different rules—I started a little earlier than I would have at a Hok'wat school."

"Did you come to see Bella? I'm sure she'll wake up soon." Clearly, Bella's mom was an optimist.

"Brought dad by to see Billy. I was just telling Bella I want my friend back."

Behind us, the rhythm of the monitor changed.

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AN: A little shorter than I like to post, but I think this chapter is about as good as I can make it. Totally wasn't what I originally expected for this one, but…I hope you enjoyed.

I'm playing with canon birthdates a little, and making Jacob (and possibly others as well) closer in age to Bella than SM did. Reasons why will become clear in future chapters.


	3. Lost in the Dark

AN: Thanks for all the great responses to the story so far. I'll work to do better at updating faster. I won't bore you with the reasons why this took so long, but I can assure you that a month-plus delay wasn't in my plans. Suffice it to say that the characters weren't talking, and life wasn't cooperating.

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Bella POV

I couldn't say where I was. It swung from utter darkness to blinding brightness, harshly loud to suffocatingly quiet, being in the midst of a massive crowd to standing in complete isolation. But through it all was numbed pain, my total inability to breathe. How could I? Breathing meant living, living meant remembering. Remembering…as if I could forget.

"_Bella, we're leaving." _

"_Why? Another year—"_

"_It's time. How much longer_ _can we stay here, really? Carlisle doesn't look anything close to the thirty-three years he's claiming. We'd have to leave soon anyway."_

_There was a growing pit in my stomach. "When you say we-?" I couldn't believe I'd gotten the question out, hoping even as I said the words that he wasn't implying what I thought he was._

"_I mean my family and myself."_

_He couldn't be meaning…could he? "I'm coming, too. I just have to find a reason to give Charlie."_

"_No, Bella. You're staying here."_

"_No, I'm not. We belong together. If you go, I go."_

"_I don't want you to come."_

_I stared at him, unable to believe what I'd just heard. "You—don't—want—me?" If he didn't want me to come with them, he was really saying he didn't want me._

"_I shouldn't have let this go on so long—I should never have let it begin in the first place."_

"_What?" He wished none of it—including us—had ever happened? Why was he saying this?_

"_I'm tired of pretending, Bella. This isn't good; it can't ever be good." _

_I didn't say anything. There wasn't anything I __**could **__say. I knew only too well that I wasn't good enough for him. All he was doing was saying it aloud._

"_It will be like I never existed, as if we never met. You can go on with your life the way it should be. Just, please, don't do anything stupid or reckless." With movement too quick for me to see, he came close, pressed a cool kiss to my forehead, and was gone before I could refocus my eyes._

Why had I ever thought I deserved him, that he could want me?

I heard faint noises sometimes—at least I thought I did—but had no desire to investigate them. What did they matter? How could anything matter now?

Eventually, though, something did penetrate the otherwise impenetrable fog I resided in.

"Hey, Bells," someone whispered. "You wanna wake up? Charlie's really worried about you. Everyone is, really. Me, too. C'mon, Bells. I miss you." It—he—sounded familiar…Jacob? Why was Jacob here with me? He couldn't stay here—he wasn't meant for a place like this. Jacob was bright and warm and this place was cold and dark. I had to make sure he didn't get stuck here with me.

"Bella?" I heard the voice, coming from a long distance. With great effort, I forced my eyes to slit open. Being greeted with an array of fuzzy lines made me close my eyelids again for a little bit before trying again. "Oh, Bella, thank goodness." There was a noise, and I could hear the voice—my mom's voice—calling for someone.

"Welcome back, Bella," someone new said. She had some kind of uniform on…a nurse?

"Oh, baby!" I had to close my eyes again in the face of my mother's enthusiasm.

"Mrs. Dwyer," the new voice spoke again, "please let me have a little space to check on Bella. I promise to give you time with her in just a moment. Perhaps you could let her father know she's woken up. We'll need some privacy, young man."

I managed to focus my eyes with a lot of effort and saw that my dream thoughts had been right: Jacob was here. "Hey, Bells. Good to see you." He defied the nurse a bit and moved so I could see him better. "Glad you listened to my advice."

I blinked, not sure what to say—or if I could even say anything at all. Jacob didn't seem to mind. "Listen, Bells, I gotta run, but I'll be back as soon as they let me, okay?" I must have given some kind of acknowledgement, because he left then.

"Hello, Bella," the nurse told me, reaching to either side of my head and removing what turned out to be an oxygen mask.

"Who?" I rasped, in a voice that wouldn't work right.

"I'm Amanda," she said. "Do you remember why you're here?"

I managed to twitch my head in a slight 'no'.

"You got sick and had trouble breathing, then you developed pneumonia, and your dad brought you to the hospital. You've been wearing a mask to help you get enough oxygen."

"When…"

"We can leave that off until the doctor has had a chance to see you, and he'll decide if you can stop using it or if you still need some extra help, either with this or with a nasal cannula. But hopefully you won't need the help anymore now that you've woken up." My face must have been its usual expressive self, because she added, "Oh, did you mean how long have you been here? Four days."

Four days? I'd been lost in that fog for four days?

A noise in the hallway made Amanda turn away. "I think that's your parents. I'll let them see you for a few minutes while I update the doctor, and then we'll have him in to check you over."

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My mom rushed right to my side, but my dad hung back just a little. Maybe it was to give her time with me first—or else just to keep a little distance from her overly exuberant emotions; I only wished I could do the same.

"Oh, baby," Renee cried. "We were so worried about you. Phil, too—oh, I'll have to call him in a minute. He wanted to be here, but he couldn't get the time off from his team; it's the middle of the season, you know. But I know he'll want to know you're okay. We'll have to get you all healthy again. I'll have to find a store—I'm sure some crystals will do the trick. Or maybe some herbs—the tribe here must have someone, don't they?" As usual, my mother bounced from one thought to another, without the need for me to make any comments; a good thing, because I couldn't think of anything to say, and wasn't sure I had the breath to say anything even if I did. And breathing was a definite issue, with as tightly as she was hugging me.

"Bella needs to breathe, Renee," my dad finally interjected.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby," she let go and took a step back. This gave Charlie room to come stand by my bed.

"How do you feel?" he asked me.

"Tired. I don't know."

"Bella, what happened?" Renee wanted to know. "How did you get so sick? And where's Edward? Why isn't he here?"

I felt the stabbing pain in my chest again; I definitely couldn't breathe now. Fortunately, I was spared the obligation of finding an answer to give, when my dad did it for me.

"The Cullens moved, Renee. Dr. Cullen got a job offer in Los Angeles, and they moved right after school let out for the summer. Edward broke up with Bella before he left."

"Oh, baby!" Renee commiserated.

"Chief Swan, Mrs. Dwyer," the nurse, Amanda, was back. "Dr. Gerandy needs to examine Bella now. If you could go to the waiting room now, he'll find you when he's done and let you know how she's doing." Both my parents gave me hugs before stepping out of the room.

Dr. Gerandy came in and started checking me, taking my pulse, listening to me breathe, and whatever else doctors look at. "You've been pretty sick, Bella," he told me. "But I think we've gotten you over the worst of it now."

I just nodded. He had no idea. Over the worst of it? How could that ever be?

"We'll keep you here for a little longer, just to make sure you're breathing fine on your own. Then you'll be able to go home." Dr. Gerandy kept talking, maybe about medicines and recovery time, but I tuned him out. It didn't matter. I drifted off to sleep again; a normal sleep this time.

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This is a little shorter than I usually like to post, but I think you've waited long enough for a new chapter, and as Bella's fallen asleep on me this is a good place to pause.


	4. Friends

AN: Sorry that updates on this story aren't as fast as any of us would like. I've had trouble getting inspiration for the early stages of this story, and life in general has been challenging. But I'm working on getting through the blocks and have tons of ideas for later in this story. This one's a little shorter than I usually like to post, but I think it's alright; not sure what else I could add anyway.

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Jake POV

I walked back to the waiting room with Bella's mom, mostly tuning out her exuberant talking. Bella was awake. She still looked kinda out of it, but she'd recognized me and understood what I said to her.

"She's awake! Bella woke up!" Renee danced into the waiting room, laughing like a crazy person.

Charlie Swan jumped up and held her still. "She woke up?"

She nodded. "The doctor's doing his exam and then we can go back."

He dropped back down into his seat and buried his face in his hands. My dad reached over and clapped a hand to Charlie's shoulder. Bella's mom was already fidgeting again, so Sue Clearwater moved to give her a hug and keep her here until the doctor gave them the okay to go see Bella. As soon as Bella's parents were gone, Dad looked at me.

"So how was she?"

I tried to play innocent. "Who?"

"Don't give me that look, Jake. I know you got into her room. And that she woke up. So?"

"Okay, yeah I did sneak in. It was so weird how she was just lying there, like it wasn't really her. Then I just told her she needed to wake up…and she did. Like she was only waiting for someone—for me—to tell her to."

"Good that you could help her out, then," Dad told me.

"But next time, Jacob, wait to be invited," Sue Clearwater said. "Hospitals have rules for a reason."

"Okay," I grumbled. I knew she was right—she was a nurse, after all—but I might not listen to the advice, not if Bella needed me to ignore it. We stuck around for a while until Charlie came back out.

"She's asleep again," he reported. "Normal sleep."

"Told you she'd be fine," Dad reminded him.

"Yeah, you did. She'll still be here another day or so, but Dr. Gerandy thinks she'll be okay." Charlie sagged a little, and Harry Clearwater braced him up. After another minute or two, Dad signaled that we ought to leave.

"Let us know how she's doing," Dad asked. "And if there's anything _you_ need—just ask."

"Thanks, Billy." Charlie clapped his shoulder before heading back to Bella's room again. Harry and Sue Clearwater walked out with us.

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Narrator POV

"She woke up," Billy Black reported over the phone to Sam Uley. He and Jacob had just gotten home from the hospital, and Jake was out in his garage, probably working on that old junk car of his. Jake swore he'd turn that piece of junk into a real attention-grabber, and Billy believed it. His son had a real gift when it came to his hands and pieces of machinery.

"Thank goodness," Sam breathed, in heart-felt sincerity.

"She woke up after Jake snuck into her hospital room," Billy elaborated.

"Oh." There wasn't much Sam could say in response; the implications appeared pretty obvious. "I'm sorry, Billy. I know you never wanted this life for your son."

"I never wanted this for _any_ of you," the older man corrected.

"We manage," Sam dismissed it. While it was nice to hear—in a way—both men knew that such wishes were pointless. Whatever the tribal elders might have wanted for their children and those children's peers…what was done was done, and it couldn't be changed. The pack was back now; now, and not a generation earlier. And today's events only seemed to solidify the idea that the pack wasn't complete, that another wolf would join them. "Will you have an eye on him and keep us in the loop?" the Alpha asked.

"I will," Billy agreed. They would all need to be watchful, so that the pack could intervene when Jake did eventually phase. But it really wouldn't be possible for the wolves to do the up-close watching; Sam was a few years older, and neither Jared nor Paul was a particularly close friend of Jake's.

Billy sighed after hanging up the phone. Sam's words and his own reply had caused a pang in his father-heart. The truth in those words was undeniable and inescapable.

More than once during his life, Billy had wished to follow in his grandfather Ephraim's footsteps and become a protector of his tribe. First, it had been a childhood dream after he'd seen his grandfather and his packmates Quil Ateara II and Levi Uley—cousins all—phase for their final time; Billy had been only a small boy at the time, held in his father William's arms. Later, it had been drunken musings after his friend Quil IV had drowned and his own health had deteriorated. But it wasn't Billy's generation to carry the honor and burden of phasing. Instead, it was the newest generation: youths like Levi's great-grandson Sam, Sam's cousin Paul, and Billy's own young cousin Jared. Of the three, only Sam had direct blood-descent from the last pack; both Jared's and Paul's connections came from farther back. Age was probably part of it; Jared and Paul were older than boys like Jacob and his best friend/cousin Quil V. But Jacob's youth was counterbalanced by the fact that he was a great-grandson not just of Ephraim, but of Quil II, too, through Billy's late wife Sarah. And with Bella Swan's reaction to Jacob today…it did seem to suggest what Sam suspected about a potential imprint-bond between them. Yet, Billy saw no signs in Jacob that presaged a phase, none of the clues they had seen in Paul and Jared, and had missed with Sam. Neither had the pack reported any signs of incursions by the enemy since the Cullens had left more than a week ago. So Billy sighed again, and hoped. Hoped that Jacob might still somehow be spared—that both he and Bella might escape entanglement with the supernatural.

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Embry POV

"What's up?" I called to Jake. He was leaning over the shell of his Volkswagen Rabbit, banging hard on something under the hood.

"Hand me that wrench, would ya?" he asked.

I stepped over to his workbench and grabbed the wrench he'd asked for. "Looking good," I commented, surveying the car Jake had been rebuilding for the past few months.

"Yeah right," Jake snorted, standing up and stretching.

"Okay, it will look good…eventually." Then I ducked when he raised the wrench my direction.

Suitably repaid, Jake set the wrench down and headed for the small fridge set up in one corner of the garage. He pulled out a pair of soda cans, tossing me one before crashing on the beat-up old sofa against the wall.

"So where were you?" I asked, claiming the other end of the couch. "I stopped by earlier, and you and your dad were both gone."

"We were up at the hospital in Forks. Dad wanted to see how Charlie was doing, what with Bella being so sick."

"Nice of you guys."

"Sure, sure," Jake shrugged it off. I knew it was nothing new for him, driving his dad around to wherever Billy needed to go. Things had been that way for them for a few years now, ever since Billy's diabetes had gotten so bad that he'd been confined to a wheelchair.

"So?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"You went to the hospital…"

"And she woke up!" Jake grinned. "Four days she'd been in that coma-whatever, and I show up and tell her she needs to wake up—and she does!"

"Coincidence," I dismissed it.

Jake reached an arm back toward the wrench and I back-pedaled. "All I'm saying is that she was bound to wake up sometime, right?"

"Not so sure. Seems like her parents and the docs were kinda worried she wouldn't."

I still didn't completely buy it, but if Jake wanted to think it was all him, I wasn't going to get into a fight with one of my best friends over it. Chucking my now-empty can into the recycle bin, I made the peace overture. "Want a hand?"

"Sure," Jake grinned, as willing as ever to forgive and forget. And we spent the rest of the afternoon hunched over his car or crawling underneath it. Our other best friend, Quil, ended up coming over, too. Not that it was a big surprise. The three of us had been the Three Amigos of the La Push Reservation practically since we first learned how to walk. With all three of us being the same age, we'd always been in the same playgroup as little kids, and the same class in school once we started. And we'd all had the bond of losing a parent; my mom and dad had split before I was even born—I'd never even met the guy or heard his name—and Jake's mom and Quil's dad had both died in accidents before we'd turned ten.

"So, Super-Jake to the rescue, huh?" Quil said. "What are you gonna do to top it?"

"Dunno," Jake admitted. "Whatever she wants, I guess."

"Wuss," Quil ragged, before being the one to get threatened by the wrench this time.

Jake frowned, "Whatever."

"What's up?" I wanted to know.

Jake exhaled heavily. "I guess I just feel like it's my fault somehow. That if I'd been a better friend to her back when she first moved here that all this wouldn't have happened.

"Jake, man, I think that's taking too much responsibility, when it isn't yours. I'm not saying it's her fault she got dumped or got sick. But she could have tried to be friends, too."

"Well, I might not have been a true friend before, but I can be one now."

"And we'll help," I spoke for both myself and for Quil.


	5. Girl Time

AN: Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story despite the slow updates.

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Bella POV

I was kept in the hospital for just over a day after I woke up. The doctors found all kinds of things to check before they'd let me leave. They let me go home, even though they still couldn't figure out why I'd been in such bad shape to begin with. For myself, I still couldn't quite believe that I'd been lost in that fog for four days. And now, I wasn't sure what waking up meant. Why had I woken up? What was I supposed to do now? Other than rest, that is; I'd been warned ad nauseum that I was going to have to take it easy for quite a few weeks or else end up back in the hospital again. As I had no desire whatsoever to be back at Forks Community Hospital, rest it would be.

We'd barely walked through Charlie's front door before Renee started 'encouraging' me to move in with her for the summer. "You'll need some help getting back on your feet, Bella," she argued. "Charlie can't take off from work indefinitely." Great, a guilt trip.

"Neither can you, Mom."

She gave me an indulgent look. "School's out for the summer for me, too, Bella."

"But Phil needs you with him," I countered. "And I've already moved cross-country once this year. I don't want to have to do it again twice more. I'm settled here. I'll be fine."

"Bella—"

"Renee, why don't we let Bella get something to eat and then some sleep? There'll be time later to talk." I smiled gratefully at my dad for standing up for me and not letting me get pressured.

I managed to convince my parents to let me watch some TV in the living room after I ate. "I've been in a bed for too long—I want to sit up," I wheedled. Not surprisingly, I fell asleep. I got woken up a while later by the sound of Charlie's and Renee's voices coming from the kitchen.

"No, Renee. If Bella doesn't want to go, I'm not going to force her to."

"But, Charlie, really, how can you take care of her?"

"I'll figure something out."

"How? She's been through too much here. Bella needs me."

"To do what?" Charlie's voice was heavy. "To take her for aura readings or crystal therapy or some other crap? To smother her? To have her take over running your life like she used to?"

"But—"

"I mean it, Renee. Bella is almost eighteen now—she's old enough to have a say in where she wants to live. She's already moved cross-country once this year—that's enough. And with how quickly she took over things here, it's a pretty safe bet that's what she was doing when she lived with you, too. I let you take her with you, because I figured a girl needed her mother most. Now…I wish I'd put up more of a fight, insisted she spend more than a couple weeks a year with me."

"And you'd have done a better job raising her than I did?" My mom's voice was a mix of scornful and hurt—I knew she'd done the best she could, even if she wasn't the kind of mom that most kids had.

Charlie snorted. "I get the feeling Bella basically raised herself. I don't know if I would have done better or not, but I for sure would have made sure she got the chance to just be a kid, to be silly with her friends or get in trouble, or whatever else. Bella might not have had the choice on where she lived growing up, but she for damn sure will have that choice now."

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Despite pressure from my mom, in the end, I won my case to stay in Forks. It really meant a lot to me—more than I thought it would—that Charlie had fought so hard to give me this choice. I felt bad for how much I'd taken advantage of him in the six months I'd lived here.

Like he'd told Renee, my dad did come up with a way to make sure I'd be looked after once he went back to work. Charlie's friend Harry had a daughter a year older than me, and Leah was at loose ends this summer. It got agreed upon among the parents that she'd be my buddy while Charlie was at work. Leah was looking to study healthcare in college—just like her mom, Sue—so it was going to be useful experience for her. For some reason, that actually made me feel better about the whole situation; I'd have hated it if Leah'd had to give up her summer for no good reason.

Hearing that Jacob Black wanted to spend time with me, too…I wasn't quite sure what to think about that. We'd hung out a lot as kids, when I'd visited for the summers, but as teens our interaction had been limited to that one meeting early this year, when the Forks kids had come down to La Push for a beach trip and Jake had met up with us. Thinking about that day, I now felt really bad about how I'd handled things. It had been wrong of me to pump Jake for information about his tribal stories, especially as he'd said he wasn't supposed to share them with outsiders, just to get details to confirm what I'd suspected about…_them._ Using Jacob that way, just because of how some of his friends had reacted to hearing that I knew _them_…maybe I could make it up to him.

It wasn't like I'd really have anything else to do. I'd thought vaguely about looking for a summer job, but with what I'd just been through, and having been hospitalized, I wasn't going to physically be up to even a part-time job for quite a while. And with it already being summer, there probably weren't any jobs left now, anyway.

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Things got going a couple of days after I came home. Being her usual changeable self, my mom didn't take long to determine that I'd probably be just fine and that she could go home to Phil. Renee got a flight out of Port Angeles, and Charlie was going to drive her there, so Leah Clearwater came by for our first 'girl day'.

"Bells, this is Leah, Harry and Sue's daughter," Charlie told me, letting a girl walk into the room ahead of him. No, not a girl—a woman. She looked to be a few inches taller than me, toned and fit, with the dusky skin and straight black hair of her heritage. Leah's black eyes appraised me openly.

"Bella," she said.

"Hi, Leah," I answered, speaking quietly to avoid triggering a coughing spell.

"Time for me to go, baby," Renee breezed into the room, dropping her bag in the hallway with a loud thud.

"Bye, Mom."

"Now if you change your mind and want to come out, even for a little while, you just let me know, okay?"

"Okay."

"My, you've changed, Leah. You used to have the cutest pigtails. Your energy is so strong, you know? Share some of that with Bella."

"Renee—"

"Coming, Charlie. Don't forget to email me, Bella—or call."

"I won't."

"Is your mom always like that?" Leah asked me after my parents had left.

"Usually," I admitted. "She's nice, and she means well, but Renee is…a little erratic."

"Adult ADHD, maybe?"

An odd sensation in my chest had me opening my mouth in anticipation of a coughing spell; I was surprised when it was a breathy laugh instead. "Maybe. She's always bounced from one idea to another, one hobby to the next. It's been that way all my life. That's even how she met Charlie: spur of the moment road trip with some friends."

"So where does she live?"

"Jacksonville, Florida. Her new husband is a baseball player."

"So you traded sunny Florida for rainy Forks?" Leah snorted.

"No. We lived in Phoenix before I moved up here." I didn't like to think about that, because thinking about it meant thinking about what had happened once I'd gotten up here, and what had happened when I'd gone back to Arizona.

"Nice to know I've got strong energy," Leah commented wryly. "Not sure how I'm supposed to share it with you, though."

"I don't know, either."

"I'll admit is has come in handy at times—nothing like getting dumped to show a girl how strong she can be."

"You got dumped?" My heart clenched.

That got a grimace from my guest—babysitter—whatever. "Yeah. Couple years ago. My boyfriend took one look at some strange girl at a peninsula tribal gathering…all of a sudden, I didn't exist anymore. He takes her home with him, proposes marriage, knocks her up—not necessarily in that order—now she's playing Susie Homemaker with him and their brat. It's nauseating. End of the summer can't come too soon for me—I want to forget Sam Uley even breathes."

Sam Uley…why did that name somehow sound familiar? I didn't know, and didn't particularly care to try and track it down just now. For the first time in a long time—in forever, maybe—I had someone here who actually seemed to understand me, even a little.

"He left me," I whispered, making myself say the words. Maybe if I kept repeating them, I'd eventually accept the truth of it.

"Ripped your heart out and stomped on it, too, didn't he?" Leah shrewdly guessed.

"Yeah."

"Guys suck."

"Some of them," I agreed.

"At least, the ones around here seem to. Okay," Leah took a deep breath and started rummaging in the backpack she'd brought. "We're not going to waste any more time today on scumbag ex-boyfriends. Pick a movie, girl, and I'll go grab us some concessions."

Judging from the selection of DVDs Leah had brought, she'd obviously heard about my situation—it was like a Top 10 list of post-breakup movies. Some hit a little too close to home (_He's Just Not That Into You_) or looked way too raunchy (_Forgetting Sarah Marshall_), but I ended up picking _Sliding Doors_. Having had a few life-altering moments myself, it was somehow an escape to watch someone else navigate the 'might-have-been'.

Charlie was only gone a few hours—bringing back a sack of books from Port Angeles that told of a stop after dropping Renee off at the airport—yet in that time, Leah had become a friend.

"Be thinking of tomorrow's movie," she called over her shoulder on her way out the door. "I'll make a critic of you yet." Somehow, I thought she would.

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AN: So, so sorry for the 3 month gap in updates. Have had a lot go on in life (becoming an auntie, changing jobs and cities) and had my muse go MIA on me.

Hope this came out alright and that it was worth the wait. I will try to be faster next time.


	6. Roller Coaster

AN: Sorry for the amount of time between updates, but this story's muse is proving to be more stubborn than I expected when I started it. I promise to plug away at it and update as often I as I can get new chapters written. I never want to post anything that I'm not happy with, so sometimes that means a little extra time to get it right.

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Bella POV

"You gonna sleep all day, girl?" I blinked, bleary-eyed, and tried to figure out who was talking to me and why they were doing it. When my vision cleared enough, I saw that it was Leah.

"Your dad left for work a while ago. You want breakfast first, or a shower?"

"What?"

"You have to eat to build your strength back up. You also have to shower so that you don't reek. You'll be doing both, but I'll let you pick the order today."

My stomach felt a little off, so I opted for the shower first. I didn't want to put either Leah or myself through the embarrassment of a vomiting episode if I put anything in my stomach just now. She got the water started, and it was nice and hot by the time I'd managed—with Leah's help—to walk the twenty or so feet from my bed into the bathroom.

"So, I took a look at your kitchen after I got here—boy, do you guys need a grocery run."

"Um…" my voice trailed off. Going to the grocery store had become one of my weekly tasks practically as soon as I'd moved up here. But considering how shaky I was just now, I certainly wasn't up to it. Leah seemed to think the same thing. "Nope, girlfriend, you aren't getting out for a while yet. You'd fall flat on your face before we made it to the car. Get a move on with that shower—hot water won't last forever, and cold showers only sound good in trashy romance novels."

I knew only too well that she was right about the size of Charlie's hot water tank, and got started on my shower routine, minus shaving my legs, which was just too much effort this morning. Leah stayed out of sight in the hallway, but kept up a running conversation.

"You must be pretty tough, too, changing states and schools in the middle of high school," she said. It took me a minute to remember our conversation about toughness from yesterday.

"I guess so. Mom really wanted to travel with Phil—he's her new husband—and I guess I thought I owed it to her to give her the chance. And Charlie to spend some time with me before I went to college." Although, I honestly hadn't spent all that much time with him once I had gotten up here. I'd quickly gotten caught up in…them.

"Make some good friends?"

"I guess." And there had been some nice people up here—I'd just ignored them in the thrill of being found interesting by a family who'd always ignored everyone around them.

"Who?" Leah didn't let up and I ended up telling her about the kids I'd eaten lunch with for a while: Angela, Jessica, Lauren, Mike, Ben, Eric, Tyler… I wasn't quite sure what it was all about, but it did serve to remind me that I wasn't alone here after all.

After my shower, Leah insisted on brushing out my hair for me; I was stunned when she told me how envious she was. "Mine has never grown like this. Short and straight's how it's been for a long time—at least once my mom stopped torturing me with those pigtails your mom mentioned."

I didn't mind getting Leah's help down the stairs, what with my usual balance issues, and the off-feeling I had today. She sat me down at the kitchen table and got to work making me some breakfast. "I can—" I started to say.

"Stuff it, Bella. You barely made it down the stairs. You have no business standing up and trying to cook. I get that you don't want to be helpless, but you've got to be realistic that it's going to take you a little while to be back to normal. Try to do too much too soon, and you'll either be stuck here a lot longer than you have to be, or you'll be back in the hospital."

I sighed, but couldn't argue with her—the doctors had told me exactly that before I'd been released. And for all that we'd really only spent a couple days together so far, Leah had me pegged pretty well. Within a few minutes, she had a bowl of oatmeal on the table in front of me, along with a banana. One bite revealed that the oatmeal had been liberally dosed with brown sugar and maple syrup. I ate as much as I could, and more than I'd thought I could—Leah had kept giving me looks when I tried to stop too soon.

We watched a couple movies before having lunch, and then Leah went through the fridge and cabinets to see what was available and what things needed to be put on the shopping list. This was followed by another movie that I napped through. I should have known that there actually had been a reason for all of Leah's questions in the morning, but I was surprised when the doorbell rang. Leah went to answer it.

"Bella, you've got visitors." My jaw dropped to see Angela and Jessica walking in.

"Hi, Bella," Angela sat down next to me and gave me a hug; surprised, I returned it.

"Thanks. Hi back. And hi to you, too, Jess."

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm…better than I was," I decided.

"And you'll get even better," Jess announced, "because we're here. We can gossip, slam our exes, watch movies, paint our nails…whatever you want."

"Well, you girls have fun without me for a while. Bella, I'm going to run and take care of this list." And in a blur, she was gone.

"So are you really okay?" Angela asked.

"I don't know," was my admission. "I guess I've been so sick for so long that I haven't had time to think too much."

"Did you know he was going to be moving?" Jessica wanted to know.

I shook my head. "H-he said it was a sudden decision, an opportunity his father just couldn't pass up. But…he was acting funny the last few days…"

Jessica got up from the chair she'd sat in and moved to sit on the other side of me. "Bella, I think he must have known longer than that. I'm no expert on hospitals, but my mom works at the bank, and businesses just don't hire new people on the spur of the moment. The hiring process takes time: application periods; reviewing applications, resumes, and references; at least one round of interviews—usually there's a couple rounds of those; background checks, and then they make an offer. So either his dad didn't tell them until it got to the end of the process…or he knew earlier on and didn't want to tell you." Her hand reached over to squeeze mine.

I knew that wasn't how it had really happened, but it was a logical scenario for anyone who didn't know. Maybe they counted on people thinking this way anytime they relocated.

"Why?"

"Maybe he didn't want to worry you until he knew if it was going to happen or not," Angela offered sympathetically.

"Or maybe he just didn't want to be single for his last few weeks in town," Jessica shot back. "Guys can be jerks like that."

I looked at her in question.

"I broke up with Mike again. For good this time."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but it was time. We'd been off and on, and on and off, for so long that it was like our relationship was an endless carousel ride. There were times when I really liked him, but other times…he annoyed the hell out of me."

I had a pretty good idea of what at least one of the annoying things was. "Like when he ignored you?"

"Yeah. I'm not stupid, Bella. I know Mike asked you to prom this spring, and that you turned him down. I'm also pretty sure that you were behind him asking me, weren't you?" I nodded. "Thought so. I just wish I knew why I said yes. I could easily have gone solo."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to be with someone." I knew that only too well, and also knew that I was alone now. I couldn't imagine wanting to be with someone now.

"Maybe so, but I plan on waiting a while and finding 'Mr. Right'. We're still in high school, after all. Nothing says we have to have a guy on the line by the time we graduate. I mean, next year we'll be in college—just think of all those frat boys!" Jess tossed her head. "But enough about boys. This is a girls' day. So, any good movies here?"

In the end, we skipped a movie in favor of rerun episodes of "Friends" on cable. I'd never watched it before, but the show did seem to be funny. Noticing that, Jessica said, "If you like it, I've got the whole series on DVD, Bella. I'd be happy to let you borrow them."

"Thanks, Jess. I'd like that. If you have time, maybe you could watch some of them with me?"

She seemed surprised—but really pleased. "Sure, Bella. I would like that."

Later that night, I wondered why exactly that I hadn't become better friends with Jessica before now. I remembered that she'd been nice to me when I'd first arrived, and then… then, what, exactly? I gritted my teeth. I knew what. Edward. I forced the name out in my thoughts, and it hurt even worse than I expected this time. Had he tried to take a friend away from me like he had my future? He'd been the one to make me pull back from Jessica, and not just because I'd started spending a lot—okay, almost all—of my time with him and his family. He'd told me how selfish and insincere she was, the kinds of things she'd thought about him… Had he made it all up? How would I have known it if he had?

I didn't fall asleep that night so much as I sank even deeper into the mire that refused to let go of me. The lift I'd gotten from my visitors today was gone, like it had never existed. He'd taken everything from me: his family, my future, himself…everything.

It only took one look at me the next morning to have Leah cursing a blue streak. "Shit, Bella! Why in the world are you letting him do this to you? Yes, he's gone. Yes, he's an asshole, and a jerk, and a bastard, and every other name in the book. But some guys just are. But you can't let him defeat you like this. It'll be hard—I know it—but you can do this."

"How?" I gasped, through the numbness. I didn't see how it was possible, or if I even wanted it to be.

"When Sam left me, I hated him—I think I still do. To see him walking around with another woman, holding her, kissing her—all the things he'd done with me—I hate him for taking all that away from me, for making me face it on a daily basis. For it to be a complete stranger…part of me almost wished it was someone he'd known already; at least that way I could have told myself that he'd been thinking about this for a while, that she'd been pursuing him, but that he finally lost the battle against temptation. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered either way; maybe the one was no worse than the other."

I tried to imagine what it would have been like to watch _him_ with someone else in Forks, but all I could feel was the reality of the gaping hole in my chest that had been there for days already and would likely stay forever—unlike him.

Leah made me get out of bed, shower, and eat, but as much as possible I tried to escape into the numbness of sleep under the cover of the movies Leah put into the DVD machine, and the medication I was given for the coughing that wouldn't go away.

But Jessica and Angela didn't stay away, coming back once together and once each alone to spend some time with me and Leah. Jess brought the first season of "Friends", as promised, and we started working through it. There were times when I did feel…something, but it never seemed to last. When I was alone at night in my bedroom, a place where I hadn't been alone, and I would sink back again.

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AN: My plan was originally to have a split chapter between Bella and Embry, but this was already at a good length, so you get Bella now and Embry next. That chapter is just about ready to go, and lots of reviews will really motivate me to post it quickly.


	7. Guy Time

AN: I'm on a bit of a roll right now, so here's another chapter while the inspiration is hot. What you've all been waiting for: lots of Embry.

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Embry POV

By Saturday, Jake had worn his dad down enough that Billy gave up and ordered him to spend the day with Bella Swan. Guess he figured that the three of us had put enough time in on our rez tasks to earn us a day off—or else he was sick and tired of Jake pestering him. Not that Jake hadn't done the work expected of him as a council member's son—he had—but he'd used every free minute to bug his dad. Billy had said Bella was fine this week, spending time with Leah Clearwater and with some girlfriends from school. But Leah was busy this weekend, and the friends had their own families, so someone else would need to keep Bella company while Charlie Swan went fishing with Billy and with Harry Clearwater. Jake had immediately volunteered himself, and Quil and me, to take care of that.

I might have wondered why I was on my way into Forks with my two best friends, but I didn't need to. I'd been best friends with Jake and Quil for as long as I could remember, had spent as much time at their homes as I had at my own. We were almost like a set of triplets who just happened to have different parents. But that was another thing that we all shared: only having one parent. I'd never known my dad, Quil's had died in a boat wreck when he was just ten, and Jake's mom had been killed in a car accident nine years ago. So the parents we had left had all worked together to raise us.

For Quil and I to follow Jake was nothing new and was truly the pattern of our lives. And having sons of two of the tribe's most important families as my best friends had probably helped me be more included here than I ever would have been on my own as an outsider Makah who only happened to have been born here because this was where his pregnant mom had ended up.

So here we were, going to spend our Saturday hanging out with Bella Swan, the sick daughter of Jake's dad's best friend. I wasn't quite sure what we'd be doing, but this was important to him, which meant it was important to us. Once we got there, Jake let us in with the key Chief Swan had left when he'd come to the Blacks' house this morning.

"So she won't have to try and get up to let them in," he'd said, "and so I won't have to leave the door unlocked." Not that there was much crime around here, but a police chief was always going to think about safety first.

Jake turned for the living room, figuring Bella would be lying on the couch or something. But she wasn't. "Bells?" he called.

A noise had me turning my head to look up the stairs to see a very unsteady-looking girl standing at the top. When I saw her start to bobble, I dashed up the stairs and caught her before she could start to fall. Cradling her against me, I could almost feel the pounding of her heart.

"Gotcha," I said, shifting her weight more evenly in my arms before turning to go back downstairs—figuring that that was probably where she'd been heading to begin with. When I did, I saw Jake and Quil both standing at the bottom.

"Th-thanks," she whispered.

"It's nothing."

"Way to go, man," Jake mouthed at me.

"Chair or couch?" I asked Bella when I'd carried her into the living room.

"Um, chair, I guess."

I got her settled while Jake and Quil crashed on the couch. There wasn't much room left for me, so I perched on the arm of the couch and took my first good look at the girl I'd just saved from a cracked head or some broken bones.

Jake had gone on and on about her for months, ever since she'd moved to Forks and come down to our beach on a day I'd been busy with my mom. But skin he'd described as pale was now a waxy grey, and she had the look of someone who'd lost weight that she didn't have on her to lose. Hair once like polished mahogany was dull and limp; eyes once deep and compelling seemed lifeless. And yet I could still see why Jake had been—was—so interested in her. Even the sickness and heartbreak she was enduring right now couldn't completely wipe away who she truly was.

"How are you doing, Bells?" Jake asked.

"I hate this!" she exploded.

"Hate what, exactly?"

"Being helpless, like a baby. I can't manage the stairs at all now. I can't cook or go to the store, or be at home alone. I can barely make it from my bedroom to the bathroom without being out of breath! I hate this!" Anger brought a little color into her face. Bella's voice had reflected her emotional state, but got breathy toward the end—I could tell she was trying not to start coughing. I walked into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water for her.

Jake leaned forward on the couch until he could be sure she was looking at him. "I get it, Bells. Anyone _would_ be upset when they can't do everything they used to. My dad—well, it took him a long time to really accept being in the chair. He's okay with it now, but at the beginning… But the docs said you'll get back to 100%, right?"

"Yeah."

"So be patient." She gave him a dirty look and Jake laughed. "Yeah, I know: easier said than done."

The quiet of the room was broken by the growling of Quil's stomach.

"Jeez, man, " Jake griped. "Didn't you feed that thing this morning?"

Quil looked offended. "Of course! But I'm a growing man."

"Growing goofball, actually," I teased.

"Shut up, Call," Quil shot back.

Bella turned her head and seemed to see me this time. "Call? Is that your name?"

"Sh—sorry, Bells," Jake apologized before I had a chance to say anything. "Can't believe I forgot to introduce my friends here. The one who caught you is Embry Call, and the walking stomach is Quil Ateara."

It almost felt like a punch in the gut watching her try to put a faint smile on her face, and I vowed to someday see a real one there.

"Hi," her voice was quiet but sweet.

"Nice to meet you," I replied, and it was nothing but the truth.

Jake popped back into the conversation. "I know about Quil, but what about you, Bells? You hungry?"

"I guess."

"I'll fix something," I offered. "You two catch up."

After glancing at the kitchen contents, I pulled out bread, eggs, butter, and milk and got French toast going, with some scrambled eggs in another pan in case Bella didn't feel like the French toast. While I worked, Jake filled Bella in on life on the rez, and the car he was rebuilding.

"Grab a tray or a table or something," I called into the living room when I started putting the food on a plate for Bella. Carrying it in, I saw that Jake had found a TV tray at set it up in front of Bella's chair. "French toast, scrambled eggs, and your choice of milk or juice."

"Juice, please," Bella requested.

"Hey, what about me?" protested Quil.

"Do I look like your mother?" I retorted. "Either wait your turn or get your ass in the kitchen and fix it yourself." I didn't tell him there was more food waiting on the counter. Quil grumbled, but jumped up and headed for the kitchen.

"Walking stomach," I quoted Jake's words. "Bella, does this look good or do you want something else? Crap, I should have asked you what you wanted before I started cooking."

"It looks good, but I don't think I'll be able to eat all of this," she confessed.

"Don't worry about it. Just eat as much as you think you can handle and one of us will finish the rest. Hey, Jake, you better grab what you want before Quil inhales it all."

"Sure, sure. What about you, Emb?"

"I'm okay," I dismissed it.

"I'll feel weird if you're the only one not eating." When Bella said that, I couldn't help grinning.

"Okay, xad'ak, you're on. One eating contest coming up."

Bella's mouth dropped open at my words. By the time I got back with my own plate, it was still hanging open.

"Looks like you're ready…and so am I. Jake, Quil, one of you give us the mark."

Jake looked at me like I was crazy, but went along. "Okay. Ready…set…go." I put the first bite in my mouth.

"Okay, one for Embry. Can Bella match it? Yes, she can," Quil played a mix of commentator and cheerleader. I got a quick grin and a thumbs-up from Jake as Bella took up the challenge. When our forks both dropped onto empty plates, I was the one on the receiving end of Bella's look this time.

"You tricked me."

I responded with a look of my own, one of utter—but insincere—innocence. "It's a proven fact that people eat more when they're distracted; you know, watching TV or something like that. I just gave you something else to think about besides the food."

"Is he always this sneaky?" she asked Quil and Jake.

Jake thought about it. "No…well, maybe, I guess he is. You know they say it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for."

"Ha ha," Bella replied. Then, to me," I seem to be saying thanks to you a lot today."

"Don't worry about it."

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Jake POV

With a clap of my hands, I caught Bella's attention again. "So, breakfast's over now, so what should we do next?"

"Oooo!" Quil cut in. "There's a _Godfather_ marathon on TV today!"

"What's that?"

We all stared at her. "Bells," I shook my head. "How can you not know about _The Godfather_? That's like, wrong somehow. 'Leave the gun, take the cannoli.'"

"Sorry. What's it about?"

"Guns, crime, murder, sex," Quil helpfully informed her.

"Um. No," Bella was emphatic. "I don't think so. I'm in the middle of a marathon of _Friends,_ so why don't we watch that instead?"

My friends and I exchanged glances. It could have been worse—she could have been in the middle of a chick-flick marathon instead, but _Friends_? Well, if that was what she wanted to watch… "Okay, Bells. _Friends_ it is. You want to stay in the chair or come over here to the couch?"

I was thrilled when she wanted to come over to the couch. I would have helped her, but one glare made me let her walk the short distance herself. In the time it took her, I kicked Quil off the couch, and scooted down to one end so that she'd have most of it to lie down on. When she would have curled up to keep from crowding me, I pulled her feet onto my lap. "It's fine, Bella. Not like your feet are lead weights or anything. You just get comfortable."

With a huff, Quil dropped into the chair Bella had abandoned, and Embry picked up the dishes we'd used. "You guys get started. I'll take care of these and be back before long." He ended up missing almost all of the first episode we watched.

"Jake, we need to make room," Bella told me.

"I'm good," Embry declined. "The floor is fine." He dropped down next to the couch, his head against the arm at Bella's end. Bella being Bella, she pulled out one of her pillows to let him use. By the end of the second disc of the day, I had to admit that the show wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Bella smirked at me when I admitted that out loud. "But," I qualified, "they ought to unplug the mike when they see her coming."

The growling of multiple stomachs meant it was time for lunch. Since Embry had handled breakfast, and the clean-up, I took lunch.

"What'cha want, Bells?"

"Soup, and maybe part of a sandwich."

"On it."

"Embry?" Bella asked.

"Hmm?"

"What was that word you used earlier? The strange one."

"You mean xad'ak?"

"Yeah."

"It's Makah for girl or woman."

"Makah?"

"It's a tribe north of here, up around Neah Bay on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. That's where my mom came from before she moved here, and my dad, too, probably."

I didn't have to see her to know that Bella wanted to know more than that. I hoped Embry didn't mind sharing, because she might not give him another option. Apparently, he was okay with it, because he told her about how his dad had walked out on his mom before their son had been born, and she'd moved down here for a fresh start.

"I'm sorry," Bella told him.

"It's—well, it is what it is. We get by just fine, just Mom and me, and I've got friends and their families, too, so it's alright."

Part way through the afternoon, and in the middle of another episode of _Friends_, Bella fell asleep. After a few minutes to make sure she wouldn't wake up right away, we paused the show and switched to catch part of the _Godfather_ run. One day, I'd have to induct Bells into this American icon.

After Bella woke up, she humored us for a few minutes by watching just a bit of _The Godfather Returns_, but it didn't take long before she demanded a return to the entertainment of her choice.

"I'm sorry I wasn't more fun to be around," Bella told us, as we got ready to leave.

"Bells, you're still getting better. It's fine. Can't speak for these clowns, but I had a good day. We'll just save the high-energy stuff for later."

"She's not bad, for a hok'wat," Quil judged on the drive home.

"She's great, no matter what color her skin is," I countered. And after I dropped my friends off, I started planning all the stuff we could do when Bella felt better.


	8. Improvement

Kk1999: Thanks. It's proving to be a little more work than I expected when I got the idea originally, but I'm on a bit of a roll right now, so things are flowing nicely.

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Narrator POV

There was actually a smile on her face, a fact noted with some surprise. _Jake_, Bella thought, _Jake and his friends_. Quil might be a little much to take on a regular basis, but Embry was nice. And he'd cooked _and_ cleaned up, which she didn't think most teenage guys did. When was the last time someone had done something like that for her? It took her a moment to remember…And just that easily and quickly, she dropped back down once more.

Charlie mentally groaned when he looked in on her in the morning. She'd looked so much better last night, after Jake and his friends had left, and yet now she was just as bad off as ever. In a near-panic that he wouldn't allow himself to give into, Charlie called his friend Harry and asked for Harry's wife, Sue.

"What's wrong, Charlie?" she asked, and he filled her in.

"As much as we all want recovery—no matter what kind—to be a smooth upward climb, the reality is that there will be downs as well as ups. 'Two steps forward, one step back'", Sue added.

"What do I do?" Charlie begged.

"Leah says Bella has done alright with her. Has she spent time with anyone else?"

"Couple friends from school have been by a few times, and Jake and his two friends were here yesterday. I almost think I saw her smiling last night around them, but by this morning…"

"Where has she gone since she left the hospital?"

"Nowhere," he admitted. "Dr. Gerandy did me a favor and stopped by a couple days ago so we didn't have to go to the hospital for Bella's checkup."

"Charlie!" Sue scolded. "Bella has to get out of the house and see and do things. Granted, not so much that she exerts herself into a relapse, but she needs to be part of the world and not turn into a recluse." Sensing that her husband's friend was at a loss, she continued, "You said she seemed to enjoy being with Jake, Quil, and Embry yesterday, so…why not see if any or all of them are free today and drag Bella down to see them?"

"I don't want to force her to do things…" Charlie trailed off.

"I'm not saying to put a gun to her head and drag her outside by her hair, Charlie. Really. All you'll be doing is giving Bella a jump start and a change of scenery."

"I think maybe I will."

Resolved, Charlie called to set things up with Billy and then marched upstairs to order Bella out of bed and into the shower. While she got ready, Charlie fixed her a simple breakfast. Once Bella was dressed and fed, he helped her out to her truck—figuring she'd like riding in that more than in his patrol car—and got them on the road to La Push.

Three boys came out of the garage that sat off to the side of the house. Jake ran to meet them while the other two hung back a little.

"Hey, Bells! Hi, Charlie. Bells, come on and see the awesomeness that is—or will be—my car," Jake grabbed her hand and pulled her after him toward the garage that was his private domain. Charlie watched them all for a moment before turning in the direction of the house.

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"I just don't know what to do, Billy," Charlie rubbed a hand over his face in obvious frustration.

"Bella?" Billy asked, although he didn't really need to.

A nod.

"Is she not getting better?"

"I wish to hell that I knew. Leah says Bella's showing improvement, she seems to like spending time with friends, but she gets so withdrawn in the evenings, and I hear her tossing at night. She still isn't really gaining back the weight that she lost being sick. My little girl just looks so lost and pale. She's so…if I didn't know better, I'd think she was on drugs and in withdrawal."

And Charlie might not be far wrong, Billy thought, though he couldn't say anything. The stories he'd grown up with told how the leeches could entrance humans and Billy was becoming even more convinced that the Cullen had done just that to Bella. A responsible level-headed girl lying to her father right and left? Falling apart because of an apparently normal teenage breakup? He could only that spending time with Jacob and his friends, and the other friends rallying around her, would help Bella—and soon. He hoped that at least some—if not most—of it could happen without Jacob having to phase, but it might be that only the imprinting would fully heal Bella.

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Embry POV

Quil and I headed over to Jake's place on Sunday morning, figuring he'd been in his garage like usual. He wasn't, so we just walked into the little red house that had always been our second home.

"Sorry, guys," Jake apologized when he saw us. "Late start. And it looks like we'll have an audience this time. Charlie's bringing Bella down."

He was obviously excited and it showed. For some reason that I didn't know or care to dig into, I was also happy she'd be hanging out with us again.

"Now, don't put her to work, Jake," Billy warned. "Charlie thought she needed to get out of the house and boost her spirits, so_ be nice_." It might have just been my imagination,but Jake's dad seemed pleased about the soon-to-arrive visitor, too.

Even a fool, and I was no fool, could see that Jake liked her—really liked her. So the "bro code" demanded I step back. It was surprising how much I didn't want to do that and I wasn't sure why. Jake was a great guy—one of my best friends—but him and Bella? I'd wait and watch…and see.

"So what do you think?" Jake asked her, proudly extending an arm toward his prized possession.

"Um, it looks great," Bella lied badly.

"You can be honest, Bella," I teased. "It looks like crap."

"It'll really be something once I'm done with it," Jake retorted. He gave me a glower that I ignored, and tugged Bella forward and over to a worn couch set to one side of the garage. For a while, Jake kept up a running commentary of what we were doing and why. A glance over at Bella told me that her eyes were glazed over in incomprehension; another look a bit later showed that she'd fallen asleep.

"Don't think she's listening anymore, bro," I commented.

He followed my gaze and shook his head. "Bella, Bella."

When she woke up, Quil made her blush by exclaiming, "Hey, Sleeping Beauty woke up."

"Ignore him," Jake advised. "He's right—but ignore him."

Bella blushed and rubbed sleep out of her eyes. "Um, okay."

"You hungry?" he asked her.

"I guess. Maybe. I can—"

"Play chef mentor, like on _Next Food Network Star_ while I pull lunch together," I interrupted. "What?" Everyone was giving me funny looks. "My mom really likes that channel," I defended.

"Alright. I ought to say hi to your dad, Jake."

"Ready?" I gave her a hand up and we headed to the house. "It's probably just healthy options," I warned, "unless we raid Jake's stash of junk food or Billy's supply of Vitamin-R."

"You can't be old enough to drink," Bella exclaimed.

I grinned. "We're all seventeen. And it's a teen guy rite of passage to steal Dad's beer and skin mags—though in our case the magazines were from a classmate. But Billy gave us a lecture when we woke up and another when we sobered up."

"Did it sink in?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah. Honestly, I'm not sure what the big deal is about beer—it was gross."

"Me, either."

"Hi, Billy," I greeted as we came inside the red house Jake and his sisters had grown up in. Bella echoed me.

"Hey, kids," he replied.

"I'll be right back," Bella whispered, turning to head down the hallway, probably to the bathroom. I asked Billy what he wanted for lunch, then went to survey the other options for the four of us.

"What can I do to help?" Bella asked from behind me. I almost said she could take it easy and let me do the work, but the look on her face and recall of how she'd said she hated being helpless made me nix that idea.

"If you grab a knife from the drawer, you can spread Miracle Whip on the bread. I'll follow behind you and add the meat and stuff. I know what the guys like, so just tell me what you want on yours."

"Thanks," she told me, as we carried the food back out to the garage.

"That's what friends are for."

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Bella POV

The next couple weeks passed in a similar pattern to the first one. I spent my weekdays with Leah, Angela, and Jessica—either just one or a combination—and my weekends with Jake and his friends. Before long, I was actually able to laugh at some of the antics the three guys got into together.

With all of them, and my parents, and the therapist my dad insisted I go to, I was starting to feel a little more like myself. I did backslide sometimes, like when my dreams edged into a nightmarish recall of the night in the woods, or when I looked at the calendar and realized it was _his_ birthday, but usually there was someone around to snap me out of it. Granted, I couldn't tell the therapist everything—not if I wanted to stay out of a mental hospital—but I could, and did, talk about the normal stuff: being dumped, getting sick, and stuff like that. Dr. McKenzie really worked to make me understand that I had no responsibility for what had happened to me, and punishing myself as if I were to blame was a destructive and dangerous behavior pattern to sink into. When I talked about the people I was spending time with now, the therapist reminded me that all of them saw something special and worthwhile in me, and that it was unfair to everyone to let one person's negative view of me color everything else.

So overall, I was getting better; not that I didn't try to push people away a few times, especially in the beginning. But they were all as stubborn as me, and it didn't work—a fact I ended up being grateful for, and that affirmed what Dr. McKenzie had said. Jake and his friends were certainly stubborn about making me sit down and watch the _Godfather_ movies with them. "Only the first two, Bells," Jake promised. "The last one was a total money-grab and should never have been made. We watched all those episodes of _Friends_ with you, now you watch these two movies with us. With a running commentary of what stuff really meant and why the characters acted the way they did, I could have a little bit of appreciation for the basic story premise of a family living and working under a structured set of rules and expectations, albeit violent ones.

As he saw me improving, Charlie gradually let me take back some of the things I'd been doing around the house: cooking and shopping only, for now, and cleaning my bedroom. "I let you take too much on when you moved up here, Bella. That's not fair to you. You're a teenager, and you should act like one." He paused and gave me a long look. "Not that this means I want to see you into drugs or drinking or breaking curfew, or stuff like that. But you should have fun."

So I tried. I went to Port Angeles with all three of my girlfriends to see a movie, and visited the beach and tidal pools on the reservation with Jake and Company. Usually all three guys were together, but sometimes it was just two, or only one, depending. As members of two important tribal families, Jake and Quil sometimes had stuff to do with that.

"Where are Jake and Quil? I asked Embry one day, when he'd been the only one to meet me at First Beach.

"Tribal stuff," he answered. "Jake's dad and Quil's grandpa said there are things they need to learn. 'You'll be leading the tribe one day.'"

I laughed at Embry's accurate rendition of Jake's obvious quotation of Billy's words. "Bummer."

"Oh, I don't know. Makes me glad to be an outsider—no pressures. Plus, now I've got you all to myself," Embry gave a mock-evil laugh.

I felt my face flame, even though I rationally knew that there wasn't any reason I should feel embarrassed. We were just two friends hanging out, a smaller subset of our usual group. I gauged the ground in front of me to cover my blush, and rushed into continuing the conversation. "Really? Oh, I remember now: you're not from here, right?"

"Not genetically. I've lived here all my life, but I'm not Quileute. The tribes up here all get along now, so the fact that Mom and I are Makah isn't a major issue, not with as long as we've been here. But, I guess being such good friends with Jake and Quil does help—no one's going to piss them off by making a big deal about me."

"Do you wish you'd grown up with your dad, too?"

"Sometimes, sure. But Mom and I do okay on our own. And I had Quil's dad before he died, and Jake's dad before and since, so it's alright."

Since I thought a part of him might have been a little uncomfortable with so much sharing, I returned the favor told him about going back and forth between my parents, and with all my mom's moves, and my relocation up here.

"Pretty brave of you," Embry observed. "But with everything…do you wish you hadn't come?"

I gave the question the attention it deserved, staying silent for a while as we walked barefoot along the beach. Finally, "If I think about parts of it, yeah, maybe I do. But that's not everything that's happened to me up here. There are good things and good people here, and I have to try and focus on that and not on the hurtful stuff."

Embry slung a casual arm across my shoulders. "Great idea."


	9. Encounter

Bella POV

I really wanted to do something to thank the guys for letting me hang out with them, so naturally I decided to cook. I picked a menu, went shopping, and planned to cook it down at Jake's. But on my way down, I had a slap-the-forehead moment when I realized I'd forgotten to put a couple of things on my list. "It's okay, Bella," I told myself. "There's a store on the reservation you can pick that stuff up at."

In the store, I found myself being watched by the extremely buff guy behind the counter. The shirt he wore was molded to his very sculpted physique, but the muscled effect wasn't my preference; he really looked like he was on steroids. The intent way he was staring at me as I moved around the store, grabbing the things I'd forgotten as well as some impulse buys, unnerved me enough that I forgot to watch where I was going. A well-waxed spot of floor sent me skidding and I was heading for a spectacular fall. I didn't get there, though, because someone caught me.

"Gotcha," a deep voice said.

Catching my breath and my balance, I looked up and up into a predictably native face. He looked as serious and buff as the guy working the counter and regarded me just as intently. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem. I'm Sam Uley, and this is my wife Emily and our son Levi." He gestured toward a pretty petite woman pushing a baby stroller. The little boy inside was slouched over, sound asleep.

I wasn't sure why I was getting the full introduction from a complete stranger, but I'd been raised with manners, and so replied with, "Hi."

"Hello, Bella."

"You know my name?" It was such a clichéd movie line, but true.

"Of course," she seemed surprised. "You're friends with some of the guys down here. And my Sam and his friends—including Jared here," she pointed toward the store employee," are the ones who found you when you got lost in the woods."

The abrupt knowledge of their connection to the worst day of my life slammed into the little family image in front of me, with the flash of memory that told me I had seen this man before today. And somehow the little mental niggle I'd had about that name—Sam Uley—also resolved itself: this was the same man who Leah had spoken about with such derision, the man who had dumped her for another woman. I couldn't imagine how hard it was for Leah to see them around all the time, living what could have been her life. I didn't think I'd have been that strong if I'd been faced with that same challenge.

I'd felt myself growing stronger every day, both mentally and physically, and irrationally I blamed this woman for reminding me of what I was trying to move past; I knew it was unfair, but couldn't help it.

"Excuse me, I've got to go," I spun around and moved as quickly as I could to the checkout counter, paid, and left. By the time I got to Jake's house, the drive had managed to calm me down some, and the left-over energy was put to use cooking the meal.

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Sam POV

Jared, Emily, and I all exchanged glances after Bella Swan bolted from the store.

"That was interesting," Jared observed laconically.

I didn't dignify him with a response, just dug out my phone and called Billy.

"I just saw Bella Swan in Cameron's store. Any reason why she'd be pissed off at me? She's not still pining after that ex of hers, is she?"

"No, I don't think so," Billy denied. "She's looking so much better since she…" he trailed off. "Damn."

"What?"

"Jake and his boys aren't the only ones she's been around lately. Charlie said she spends a lot of time with a couple of girls from school. She's also gotten close to Leah Clearwater."

Billy didn't need to say anything more. I hadn't had any choice in giving up Leah for Emily—imprinting was absolute—but the rules of secrecy where wolf-packs were concerned meant that no one—including me and Leah's own father—had been able to give her any explanation for the reason for my actions. Leah had given both Emily and I a wide berth ever since, but the glares I'd gotten on the occasions we'd been in close proximity to one another confirmed her continued resentment. I could well believe that, having found another rejected girl to exchange sympathy with, Leah had taken full advantage of the mutual venting opportunity.

"Great," I finally muttered, knowing Billy would understand that I meant exactly the opposite.

"We'll deal with it if an when we must, Sam," Billy decided. "Nothing for it now."

"You're right. Thanks, Billy. I'll let you get back to your day."

Putting my phone away, I saw that Emily had finished selecting everything we had come here for, and Jared was ringing us up.

"Run this afternoon," I told him, paying up as Emily pushed our son toward the door. "I'll call when Paul and I are leaving."

"Okay."

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Jake POV

"I love you, Bells," I exclaimed.

"You love my food," she shot back.

I fell backward in an overly-dramatic play of being struck in the chest. Bella shook her head and tried to scowl, but couldn't help laughing. Mission accomplished. I loved that I could make her smile and laugh even when she didn't want to. And I loved that she was spending every weekend with me now. Maybe there actually was some truth to that whole absence/heart thing, 'cause I felt like I might have that old crush back again. I wasn't about to push Bella too fast—not with her having gotten dumped just over a month ago. But I was definitely going to be the best friend I could be, and lay the groundwork for more as soon as she was ready.

"You love any kind of food as long as you aren't the one cooking it," Quil snorted.

"Almost, but not quite," I shook my head. "Some of that stuff Emily Uley makes is a little…" I trailed off. There were plenty of adjectives I might have used, but those old lessons from my mom on staying quiet if I couldn't be nice were permanently carved into my mind.

"Emily Uley?" Bella asked, turning away from the stove. "I saw her and her family at the store before I came over here. It was weird how she almost acted like we already knew each other. And the way her husband and the guy who worked there looked at me…" Bella stopped talking and gave a little shudder.

I started toward her. "Did they bother you?"

"I'm fine, Jake. It was just odd, that's all. I hadn't met either of them before, and it's not like I plan on doing my shopping there in the future, so I'm sure I'll be fine."

"I could talk to my dad," I started to offer.

Embry interrupted me. "And he'll just say you're overreacting, Jake. You know your dad and the other elders think the sun rises and sets by Sam Uley's word. Even Harry and Sue Clearwater don't have a problem with hum, even though he dumped their daughter two years ago."

"But he doesn't look that old. Why do people listen to him?" Bella asked Embry, and he answered her.

"No one knows."

"But—"

I didn't want to spend our day together talking about Sam Uley. "He went on some kind of spirit journey, did a 180 when he got back—in the wrong direction a lot of people say. And he's pulled Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote into it now, too. Don't worry, though, Bells. We keep our distance from them, and like you said, you aren't likely to run into them, either." Privately, I vowed to still avoid them, but not so much that I wouldn't know if they bothered Bella again.

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Sam POV

Even with the Cullens gone, I'd still kept myself, Jared, and Paul on a light patrol schedule. I couldn't forget my conviction that Bella Swan was a future imprint. And since Paul wasn't her wolf, that meant we'd get another brother for sure. Jake was most likely, though he still showed no signs that the phase had been triggered. His cousin Quil was also a possibility, as he, like Jacob, was the great-grandson of a member of the tribe's last wolfpack. I didn't really want to see either of them—or both of them—condemned to this life that was as much a curse as a blessing, but neither could I ignore Billy's report of how much Bella had improved in just the short time she'd been spending with them both. If it meant that an innocent girl would be spared a wasting death and be blessed with a powerful and life-changing love, then it would be worth it to have Jake and Quil join us.

So here we were, out in the woods running loops and straining for any scent or sound of a leech that would start the phase and seal Bella Swan's imprint.

_This had better be worth it,_ Paul grumbled, off to the east. _I could be…_ his words trailed off, but his mind supplied ample pictures of what he'd rather be doing right now.

_Give me a break,_ Jared groaned, having phased in just in time to catch Paul's comment.

_Is our poor Beta upset because he's not getting any?_ The syrupy-sweet words weren't—and yet were—typical of Paul. _After all, it's your own fault._

_I take it Kim's still pissed at you?_ I inquired.

Jared's mind offered a crystal-clear image of an obviously irate imprint.

_You knew it would happen. Both of you did,_ Paul said, with much less snideness than before.

_Being told it will happen and then actually having it happen are two __**very**__ different things, bro. Just you wait and see._

_Hell, no!___ Paul's horror was almost funny. _I plan on putting that off as long as I can._

Jared didn't say anything to that, but we all got his opinion of the likelihood of that.

_Would it help if Emily stopped by for a visit?_

_I can't be in any worse trouble than I already am, so sure, Sam._

_I'll let her know, then. And Jared…_

_Yeah?_

_Don't ever think that things can't get worse; there's __**always **__worse somehow._

_Ha ha. Not funny._

_Fact of life, bro._

_Whatever. Can we change the subject?_

_Sure._

_So…who here thinks it's gonna be a cake walk when the boys phase and when the leech lover—excuse me, ex-leech lover—all join the family? _Paul clearly didn't believe it, and neither did we. It was unfortunate that our need for secrecy resulted in public perceptions about what we were doing and what kinds of people we were that couldn't have been farther from the truth. That, and our changed physical appearances meant it was essentially impossible to avoid being noticed by others in the tribe. It was a major part of why I'd asked Billy to keep an eye on Jacob and to update me on how he was doing. I'd hoped Emily might be able to start making connections with Bella, now that the girl was spending time here, but the encounter earlier today made that unlikely in the extreme. Even though Bella didn't know us, she obviously was close enough to Leah that she wasn't likely to think well of my Emily.

The guys saw all this in my thoughts, but I answered Paul anyway. _We'll just have to deal with whatever happens when it happens. The boys' families will be able to help, and the girls will do what they can to help Bella understand._

_Hey! _Paul's tone now was completely different from before.

_What?_

_Leech!_

Looking through his eyes, I could see the bloodsucker running through the forest. It was a female, with the corpse-white skin they all had. There was a glimpse of crimson eyes set into a too-perfect face, as she froze in place—she must've heard Paul's footfalls. They—we stared at one another: predators and prey, before she pivoted in a swirl of long curly red hair. Paul instantly started to charge, and Jared and I both put on speed to join him.


	10. Steps

Guest: Thanks. I think that Paul gets a bad rap sometimes. I see him as being pretty impulsive and a doer rather than a thinker.

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Narrator POV

_Damn, she's fast_, part of Jared's mind thought, even as he pounded through the forest.

_Focus_, Sam ordered, though Jared had already done just that_._

_How'd she do that?_

The handful of wandering vampires this small La Push wolfpack had dealt with in the last two years had in no way prepared them for dealing with this vampire. Every move they made, she seemed to anticipate and instantly counter. Sam got the closest to her when he closed in from the side and got his jaws around a section of the long red curls. But her twisting move in the other direction resulted in her catapulting into the trees while he was stuck on the ground with a mouthful of leech-hair.

_Damn it,_ he swore, dropping the hair onto the forest floor and gagging.

_Gross,_ Paul observed, all the while being grateful it wasn't him. He was spared his Alpha's justifiable annoyance when Jared joined them to report,

_She's gone. Skipped along the treetops like they were monkey bars on the playground._

_And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you? _Paul's jibe was automatic as much as it was a means of diluting the tension.

_Shut up!_ His friends thundered, and with both Alpha and Beta in agreement, Paul did just that.

_What's the play, Sam?_ Jared asked.

_Full patrol schedule is back in effect as of now._

_Man!_ Neither of the others was thrilled by that.

_I don't want to hear it. Think how close she got to the rez! I know this isn't easy on any of us, trust me. But until or unless someone else phases to join us, we're just going to have to suck it up._

_Think she got close enough to trigger it?_

Sam sighed. _I don't know, Jared. I guess we'll just have to wait and see._

_Yeah. Wonder why she came._

_How the hell should I know? But if you're the one to catch up to her, you can ask her before we have the bonfire._

Far in the distance, the distinctive rumble of a heavy engine drifted through the muggy air.

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Sam POV

The frustration of a failed hunt had all of us on edge. We weren't accustomed to losing our quarry, and it left a bitter taste in our mouths. I wasn't about to let either myself or Jared go near our imprints right now, so burning off some steam was a necessity. We headed to Paul's house for a few rounds of boxing. Wearing the gear was annoying, but the last thing I needed right now was for someone to see us going at each other in a bare-knuckle brawl and call the cops to accuse me of running an illegal fight club.

As we walked down the street past the house that Old Quil shared with his daughter-in-law and his grandson, the younger Quil came outside and watched us go by. It was hard not to notice the suspicion on his face or the way that his nostrils flared as the wind blew toward him, carrying traces of the vampire we'd pursued today.

_And here we go_, I thought. Some intuition or Alpha-instinct somehow knew that he was now on his way to joining us.

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Bella POV

For the first time since I'd started spending days with Leah, I was awake, up, showered, and dressed by the time she arrived. I was a little surprised that Charlie hadn't left for work by now, but all he said was that he'd be going in late since he'd have to stay late. It didn't take long after Leah got there before I decided there was a bit more to it than that.

"Hi, Charlie," Leah breezed right in.

"Leah. How are things going?"

"Fine. Just fine. Hey, I'm wondering if I can borrow Bella for a day of shopping in Port Angeles."

"Fine by me," my dad replied. To which he got a _traitor_ look from me. "That okay with you, Bells?"

"Shopping for what?" I hedged.

"Stuff for my college dorm room. They sent a whole list of approved and forbidden items. I can tell you now that my room isn't going to be furnished by the local Thriftway, or the Outfitters store, either. I need bedding and stuff like that." Leah paused for a minute, and then appeared to get a brain flash. "You know, Bella. We could use your room as a trial run. New bedding and curtains, picture frames. Maybe even a new paint color on the walls. That okay with you, Charlie?"

"Wha—" I didn't even get the whole word out.

If you want to do stuff with your room, that's fine with me. I guess I didn't do that like I should have before you got here," Charlie said. He disappeared upstairs briefly. When he came back, he had an envelope in his hand. "Here, you go, Bells. Hope that'll be enough."

I opened the envelope to see some cash. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Dad. I've got my bank card if I need it."

"Now, if you have to use that, then you tell me how much it was and I'll cover it for you," he insisted.

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On our way into Port Angeles, I turned in the seat to face Leah. "Why am I getting shanghaied into a room makeover?"

"Retail therapy solves a lot of problems," Leah informed me. "And you really need this intervention. That room…I'd almost swear it's toxic. You can do so well during the day, but by the next morning, you've taken a big leap or two backward. Relocating isn't really an option for you right now, I'd guess, so this is the next best thing. Give that room a new look, and it's like turning over a new leaf or a fresh page or something like that."

I hadn't really thought of it that way, but Leah might just have a point with this. Whether I meant to or not, or whether Edward had thought of it or not, my bedroom was filled with memories. The comforter, the curtains, the walls, the rocking chair…so much of it reminded me. _And you didn't think to take all that along with the presents?_ I thought, acidly. But, could redoing my room really make a difference in my mental state? Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Sounds like fun," I told my friend. The trip might not have been my idea, but I was going to take it and run with it. With that determination, it really wasn't a surprise that Leah and I had a good time in Port Angeles. She found a dorm bedding set in a vivid combination of reds, oranges, and yellows. My pick was a brown, cream and blue bedding set with hints of tribal designs or echoes of the Southwest were I'd once lived.

"Not a girly girl, are you?" Leah queried.

"Nope. Much to my mom's despair, I'm sure."

"You're not planning to go this dark with the paint, right?"

"I'm thinking maybe cream, to match with the cream in the comforter. Bright, but warm, too."

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Back in Forks, we stopped at the hardware store to look over the paint options. I was drawn to a warm creamy color that, given my culinary aptitude, was appropriately named "Lemon Meringue".

"Painting party tomorrow," Leah announced.

And there was. Everyone seemed to come over the next day for my bedroom makeover. The girls got there before the guys did, so we got to work packing up my stuff so that we could clear things out as much as possible.

"So what's the plan, Bells?" Jake asked, sweeping me into a hug.

"Paint my room," I replied, thinking it would be obvious.

"Where's the primer?" Quil wanted to know.

"What?"

"Bella, Bella," he shook his head. "You can't put this light color over that green you've got without priming first."

"One step ahead of you, genius," Leah snorted. "The paint has a primer already mixed in. We're good to go."

"Well, almost," I added. "We've got to move some stuff around first."

"_We'll_ move it, _you'll_ just watch," Jake corrected. "Lead the way."

When we got upstairs, Jess and Angela looked up from the boxes they were filling.

"Excellent, Bella. Manual labor," Jessica laughed.

"Better yet," Angela cut in, "now I'm not the only tall one here."

"Jake, Embry, Quil, this is Jessica and Angela. They're friends of mine from school. Ange, Jess, these are my friends from La Push."

"You girls came down to the beach early this year, right? You look familiar," Jake said to Angela.

"Yeah, we did. You were there, too?"

He nodded. "My friend, Bells, was coming down to see me. 'Course I had to be there."

"And we all had a great time," I agreed. "Now, paintbrush, anyone?"

We ended up with a nice division of labor: the guys did the tall stuff, us girls did the lower bits. Lunch got eaten while the first coat of paint dried, and snacks after the second coat. Maybe I was just dreaming things, but the guys—Jake and Quil at least—really seemed to have bottomless pits for stomachs today.

"And we now have one repainted bedroom," Embry announced as he pulled the last strip of tape off of the window frame.

"You like it, Bells?" Jake wanted to know.

"I do. It looks good. Thanks, everyone."

"No problem," Embry replied. "Do we have all the brushes?"

I looked around and couldn't see any besides the ones piled into the paint tray he'd just picked up. "No, I think that's all of them."

Outside, he started rinsing off the brushes with the garden hose. Jake and Quil started tussling over the best spot on the porch steps.

"You shouldn't have to do all the work cleaning up," I told him, having moved out of the Jake-Quil danger zone. "After all the work you did painting…"

"You're making it out to be a bigger deal than it is," he said. "Not like I was the only one painting. But…" Embry looked down at me with a sly gleam in his eyes. "Count to three silently and then jump out of the way."

I looked at him in confusion and he jiggled the hose. Then I realized I was standing between him and the other guys. I mouthed, "One, two, three," and quickly stepped to the side. Embry whipped the hose up and blasted Jake and Quil with the spray. They both yelled at the shock of the cold water and jumped up from the porch, starting to come after Embry. For just a second, the look in Jake's eyes was…strange. Then it was gone, like I'd only imagined it.

"This means war, Call," he shouted, barreling into his friend before Embry could blast him again. Quil joined the pile and the three of them rolled around in the now water-logged yard. Leah, Jessica, Angela, and I just watched and laughed.

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Jake POV

The last thing before we left—and once we'd all dried off enough—was to put the stuff back into Bella's room. I'd've thought she'd want to put everything back right where it had been, but she moved almost all of it around. And then, she told me to take her old rocking chair.

"Use it for fuel at the next tribal bonfire or something, whatever you want. I just don't want it anymore. Same thing with the bedding. I don't want any of it."

"Okay, Bells. If that's what you want. I'll take those things for you."

Quil helped me manhandle the rocking chair downstairs and out into the bed of my dad's truck. The bed stuff we tossed into trashbags. I thought about seeing if a family on the rez could use it, but when I gave it a good sniff, I grimaced in disgust. Bella's strawberry scent was strongest, but there was something else there that not even the laundry soap and all could cover up. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't like it. So all of it would end up feeding the flames.

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"You didn't used to hit that hard," Embry complained, crashing on my garage couch with a can of my Coke.

"I didn't!"

Embry snorted and lifted his shirt. Sure enough, there was a barely-visible bruise on his side.

"Man, I—I guess that blast of cold water got my blood pumping. Sorry."

"It's okay. Worth it to see her laughing like that, right?"

"Yeah, guess it was."

Jake—"

"Yeah?"

"Don't do it again, though, alright?"

"As long as you don't blast me with a hose like that," and we shook on it, a deal between friends.


	11. A Day with a Friend

AN: Sorry this took a little while, but I think it'll be worth it. Had to wait for a bit of inspiration, and then once I got it, it wouldn't shut off. And then I had to battle tiredness to get all this handwritten stuff typed up. But you're getting a nice long chapter, so hopefully that makes up for it.

To tuggabeloved15: I hope this was fast enough.

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Narrator POV

As the days of July passed, it almost seemed like the entire world held its breath and just watched. The members of the wolf pack watched the woods, and caught a few glimpses of the red-headed vampire from before. More alarming, they'd once seen her with another vampire: a black one, if that wasn't an oxymoron, one that looked like some kind of Rastafarian with those long dreadlocks. But why she—they—kept coming around was still a mystery.

The pack also watched the two future members of their number. Billy Black watched them, too; watched his son change a little bit every day. It was slower than he might have expected, but that might be because Bella kept visiting. Jake loved spending time with her, and it was heartwarming to see her come back to life with the attention that he and others were giving her. _This is one life you won't claim_, Billy vowed silently, to the absent vampire coven.

The changes in his grandson didn't escape Quil III, either. He, like Billy, remembered seeing the last pack phase, though it had been his father who he'd watched. Quil had mourned his son's death about a decade before, occasionally wondering what might have been different if the wolf pack had existed in that generation. But it was a pointless line of thought, because Quil IV hadn't been a wolf, though now his son would be.

Charlie watched, too. He didn't mind paying for pizzas and stuff for Bella to serve to her friends, though he did wince a little when the rez boys came over—seemed like they ate more and more each time. And it only made them shoot up and not really out. _Bit late for growth spurts,_ he mused. But Jake and his friends were good kids: they wouldn't get mixed up in something nasty like drugs. Billy swore that drugs weren't tolerated on the rez, even said that Sam Uley and his boys had run off a few lowlifes who tried to do some dealing.

Jake felt that little _something_ inside every time he saw Bella smile at some joke he told or laugh atsomething he did. He knew that she was happy to spend time with him and he just knew they were meant to be together. Jake was pretty sure that little crush of his was turning into more for him, and hoped she'd be ready to move on before too long_._

Embry saw it, too—he'd only known Jake all his life. But he also saw things that he wondered how Jake could miss. How Bella was just as friendly to Quil and to Embry himself as she was to Jake. That her smiles were sometimes automatic or wistful. He also saw times when it seemed like Jake, and Quil too, was acting a little different. It wasn't all the time, and they always acted surprised when they realized they'd taken things a bit far or a little rough. But the more it happened…

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Bella POV

It had been something of a surprise to me, though perhaps it shouldn't have, that Leah had been right on the room redecorating idea. Having the new look and furniture placement, the new bedding and the lack of that rocking chair…everything was different and it really helped. I was no longer constantly surrounded by the echoes of my past. I could look at my bedroom and not think very often—in fact, less and less each week—about my former nighttime roommate.

Leah was missing out on some of our girl days now because of getting ready for college, but she came as often as she could, and Jess and Angela still came a lot. And I was still spending time with Jake and his friends, though I made a point of avoiding that store. And since I didn't see the people I'd encountered there, it was pretty easy to forget it had happened most of the time. But by late July, I had other things to think about. I hadn't paid it much mind to begin with, but after a while I finally had to face that Jake, and also Quil, was changing. There were times when he seemed to get annoyed by the littlest things. And if it wasn't that, it was the way he watched me sometimes, a little too attentive. I really hoped that he wasn't getting any ideas about us becoming more than just friends. I loved Jacob like a best friend, and I didn't want to mess that up. And I wasn't even sure when—if—I'd be ready for another relationship, anyway.

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I admitted to being a stereotypical girl when it came to my lack of in-depth car knowledge, but even I knew that my truck wasn't working right that Saturday morning. I had a round of errands planned before going down to La Push, but I'd barely gotten started before my faithful old truck started having problems when I tried to accelerate. I'd always known it wouldn't go above 55 mph, but today it didn't really even want to get up to city speed. So I abandoned my plans and headed down to La Push early, hoping that my faithful mechanic had an opening.

The guys came out of the garage as I pulled up. "Hey, Bells. Thought you weren't coming until later," Jake called out.

"Change of plans. Can you take a look at the truck?"

"Sure. What's it doing?"

I explained what I'd noticed and watched him consider the problem. "It might be the carburetor, or maybe the condenser. Yeah, I can look it over."

We hung out while waiting for the truck to cool off for Jake to take a look under the hood. As had happened more and more often lately, he and Quil started getting into it for no reason that I could easily figure out. Rehashing the last Seattle Mariners game degenerated into trash talking about their own athletic abilities, or the lack of them, and on to mechanical aptitude.

"You really think you've got a shot at fixing this rust bucket?" Quil scoffed. "It's got to be as old as your dad and maybe even older."

"Hell, yeah," Jake growled. "I've only worked on this truck since I first picked up a set of tools."

"Uh-huh. Bella should just save time and take it to a real mechanic."

"Who? You? Yeah, right. She's got better sense than that, obviously." Jake gestured to my truck sitting in front of the open doors of his garage.

"So then maybe I'll keep her company while you try to fight the inevitable losing battle against the demise of that red beast. You're stubborn, so it ought to take a while."

"Just shut the hell up!"

"And if I don't?"

"Cool it, guys," Embry cautioned. "Getting a little intense here."

"No one asked you to play referee, Call," it was Quil's turn to growl.

Seeing the potential for this to blow up in my face—and wanting to be out of the line of fire—I quietly scooted toward the door. Embry slid out with me as the argument between Jake and Quil started to reach new heights of venom and volume. By the time we got close to the house, the noise had gotten Billy's attention, and he'd rolled himself outside and down the wheelchair ramp.

"What's going on?"

"Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb are having a shouting match over stupid stuff," Embry reported. "It's not a knock down drag out fight—at least not yet. But the way things are going… Anyway, Bella and I figured we'd get out of the line of fire."

"What brought you down so early, Bella?"

"A problem with my truck. I thought Jake might be able to fix it, but now I think it just gave him and Quil something to argue about."

Billy rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sure he'll do his best. I'll talk to both of them about their bad manners. Embry, could you give Bella a lift back to her place? I don't think the two idiots need an audience during my lecture. Besides, it'll probably take Jake a while to figure the truck out. Bella, he'll call you when it's done, okay?"

"Sure, Billy."

As we started to walk down the gravel driveway, Billy yelled, "Jacob! Quil!"

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"Whew," Embry sighed.

"Yeah, that was…weird," I agreed.

"They've always been a little strange—at least Quil has—but you're right, weird works."

We walked in silence for a while; that was something I appreciated about Embry: he didn't always have to talk, the way Quil and Jake usually did.

"I really appreciate you giving me a ride," I said.

"My pleasure. I get to avoid the argument, the lecture, and I get to spend time with you."

I couldn't help blushing, or remembering some of the things said in the garage. "Did it seem like they were arguing about me as much as they were about the truck?"

He shrugged. "And if they were? Don't you think you're worth having a couple guys argue over you?"

"No," I shook my head. "And I don't want to cause trouble between them."

Embry stopped and tugged me to face him. "Bella, _if_ they do argue about you, it _isn't your fault_. They're both big boys and can do what they want."

We kept moving, and after another couple blocks, Embry turned us onto a driveway. "Here we are. It's not much, but Mom and I like it."

"A house doesn't have to be big and fancy as long as it's a home." I thought back to the large modern farmhouse that the Cullens had lived in, though really it had been a stage set for an audience of one.

"Thanks. Hey, Mom!" Embry called a greeting to a woman kneeling in front of a flowerbed.

"Embry?" she looked around and stood up, dusting off her hands while walking to join us. "I didn't expect to see you back here until dinnertime—if then," she teased. Now that she was next to us, I could see that she was a few inches taller than me, and a few inches shorter than her son. She had the same straight dark hair that he did, and a similar look about her.

"Jake and Quil got into it. Billy's sorting them out while I give Bella a ride home. Oh, Mom, this is Bella Swan. Bella, this is my mom, Tiffany Call."

I didn't think I'd felt this nervous since my first visit to the Cullen house, and I wasn't sure why. I mean, meeting a friend's mom shouldn't be worse than meeting a boyfriend's mom, right?

"So you're Bella. Nice to meet you. Embry's talked about you—all good, I promise," his mom assured me.

"It's nice to meet you, too. I'm not sure he ever talks bad about someone," I replied.

"Maybe not," she laughed, "but he definitely wouldn't do that to a friend."

"No, he wouldn't," and I smiled, grateful that Embry was indeed a friend.

"Do you need to borrow the car?" Tiffany Call asked her son.

Embry shook his head. "Figured I'd take the bike if Bella was up to it." He glanced over at me.

"Bike?" I stuttered.

"I've got a motorcycle. Cheaper than a car, especially when we found it used and I had free help fixing it up."

"Um…"

"I had to take a safety course and a knowledge test to get my license—passed with flying colors. You'd be completely safe," Embry wheedled.

"He _is_ a very safe driver, and wears all the safety equipment," Tiffany confirmed, "but if you aren't comfortable, then he _will_ use my car."

"I trust Embry. Okay, why not. But…you better cover me in safety equipment too, or my dad will go after you with that shotgun of his." Both Embry and his mom laughed, even though I was being completely serious. I followed Embry to the garage to get his bike, while his mom went to get both their sets of motorcycle gear.

"Here you go, Bella," Tiffany reappeared, her arms full of stuff. "Embry, remember a safety lesson before she gets on that bike."

"Yes, Mom."

While Embry helped me into the pants and jacket, he ran through some bike basics and why the different pieces of gear were necessary. Once I was taken care of, he put on his own bike-wear. "Okay, pants, jackets, gloves…helmets." He turned to one of the walls and pulled down a pair of helmets.

"Does it feel okay?" he asked after setting his mom's helmet on my head. I gave him a thumbs-up. "Okay, let's go."

Embry swung one leg over the bike and twisted partway around. He extended one hand to me. I took it, and he helped me climb on.

"Scoot up right behind me and hold on around my waist," he directed, before shutting the face visor on my helmet and turning back around. I did as instructed, resting my helmeted head against his back. The bike now fully upright, Embry gunned the engine and the bike roared to life. Then we were moving. I could see why people called motorcycle-riding a big rush. Even through all the gear I wore, I could still feel the gusting of the wind whipping around us. Once we were out of La Push and on the road to Forks, Embry really opened it up. I clung even tighter to him, a little afraid that the tingling up my arms would cause me to let go and fall. In a lot less time than it would have taken my truck, Embry was gliding the bike to a stop in front of my house.

"So?" he asked after helping me get off the bike and remove my helmet.

"Wow," was all I could manage.

"Yeah. And that was me going right at the speed limit."

I caught his implication that he knew what it felt like to go above that limit, but I wasn't going to ask for confirmation; the cop's daughter in me preferred the technicality of not _knowing_ that he'd sped. "Want to hang out here today?" I offered.

"Sure. Nothing else to do. Besides, we owe it to the guys to have fun on their behalf."

"Exactly."

"So…" Embry drew out the word, "what will we do first?"

"What do you want to do?" I countered.

"Uh-uh," he shook his head. "I asked you first. You'll pick the first thing we do, and I'll pick the second. Nice and fair."

I considered the options, Embry waiting me out with his usual patience. "I'd planned on running errands before going down to La Push today."

"Do we need to take care of those?"

"Not really. Most of it can wait. I might have to ask my dad to go to the grocery store, or else go with him later—definitely need a car for that one."

"Okay, then no errands. Your choice is…?"

"Well, besides errands, my other pre-La Push activity would have been cooking up something for dinner."

"Great. Cooking." And Embry actually did seem interested.

"You like to cook?"

He laughed. "I like to eat, so, yes, I like to cook."

"No fast food? Freezer meals?"

"I'm seventeen—yeah, I like fast food, limited though our choices may be. And freezer meals can be convenient, but that's not an everyday thing. I've helped put dinner on the table lots of times when my mom worked extra hours."

I was pretty impressed and a bit surprised—though I shouldn't have been, not considering how often he'd helped out with the food this summer.

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Embry POV

Bella was in her element in the kitchen. However clumsy she might be at other times, in this room she moved confidently and effortlessly. While I cut up vegetables to go in some kind of stew in the slow-cooker, Bella rapidly chopped herbs for a marinade for some chicken, as she explained when I asked her. As we worked, we talked more about our childhoods.

"So what was it like in Arizona?"

"Hot and dry. Brown."

I looked out the window at the wet green surroundings. "Quite a change."

Bella laughed. "Oh, yeah. I think I've gotten used to it now, but at the beginning, it was pretty strange."

"What was school like down there?"

Her knife paused in its rocking motion. "Really big. My high school there was about half of the entire population of Forks. I took a lot of AP—advanced placement—classes, so it's been an adjustment taking regular classes where I already know so much of the material."

"That would suck."

"I can study on my own. It's only one more year, and Charlie deserved this time with me. What's your school like?"

"There's about a hundred kids in the whole school, kindergarten through high school. It can be nice to get the personal attention, but then again you're _really_ with the same people and only them all year every year. Our class selection is pretty limited, but some kids get bussed to Forks to take some classes there. I'd thought about taking a few things there this year, but I wasn't sure if I actually would…maybe now I am." Bella's face pinked up some, but I thought she didn't seem to mind the idea too much.

"It'd be nice to have another friend there. I'm not sure how I'll feel going back there in the fall now that Edward and his family are gone." Bella took a deep breath and redirected the conversation. "You've said you're Makah. Are the two reservations a lot alike, or are they pretty different?"

"I don't know. I actually haven't been up to the Makah Reservation."

"You haven't?" she seemed pretty surprised.

"Nope."

"Is it far away?"

"Less than two hours from here. But I guess Mom didn't leave on the best of terms, so she's never really wanted to go back or keep up with the people she knew. La Push is home to me."

"That makes sense if it's the only home you've known. But do you miss what you could have known?"

"I try not to—it wouldn't change anything."

"'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference', right?"

"Do you wish you could change things and not move up here?"

Bella thought about it. "I was born here, and lived here for a while, but I didn't remember it. I didn't spend a whole lot of time with Charlie when I was growing up. I think I regretted not having the traditional two-parent home and stuff when I was a kid—not all the time, but enough that I wanted to come and spend more time with my dad while I had the chance. I don't like some of the stuff that's happened to me since I came here, but…every place is going to have good things and bad things, good memories and bad. If I only think about the bad, then it _would_ be easy to regret moving. But I'm trying really hard to think about the good stuff."

"That's a great idea," I reached out and gave her an around-the-shoulders hug, careful to keep my hand clean so she wouldn't make me wash it again—I'd learned Bella was a real stickler for cook cleanliness.

Vegetables cooking and meat marinating, Bella looked at me with challenge in her eyes. "Alright now, your turn. What do _you_ want to do?"

I could have suggested a movie, but I wanted to keep getting to know Bella, and she hated talking during movies. "Do you have any games?"

"Games?"

"You know, board games?"

"I don't know. If there are any, they might be in there," she pointed to a storage area under the stairs. Going to look, I unearthed a few old-looking board game boxes.

"Sorry?" Bella read the name of the one I picked.

"Yeah," I started setting up the board on the coffee table. "You draw cards and move your pieces like the cards say. You want to get all four of your pieces from your Start to your Home before anyone else does. If you can knock someone's piece off the board, you can tell them 'Sorry'."

Partway through our first round, Bella glanced across the board at me. "Embry, I know you don't play like this with the guys—"

"True. We don't do board games—"

"—so why are you being so easy on me?"

Just about any answer that I might give would surely be the wrong one. Finally, I said, "First game is just the warm-up. No holds barred on the next one."

"Agreed."

And I was right—Bella slaughtered me in the second game.

Hours later, I checked the clock and sighed in regret. "It's been fun, but I think I'm going to have to call it a day."

"Are you going to surprise your mom for the second time today and show up for supper?"

"Something like that. Going to be a bummer, though—I did all that work on your dinner, and now I won't get to see how it turned out."

With a mischievous grin, Bella disappeared into the kitchen. Some noises later, she returned with some insulated bags. "Here's enough for you and for your mom. Although, you showing up _with_ dinner, instead of just _to_ dinner, might just give her a heart-attack, so be careful."

When I realized I probably didn't have room to take both my mom's gear and the food home with me on the bike, I just told Bella to keep the gear until later. "She won't mind. And maybe I can talk you onto the bike for another ride before I take it back."

Throwing caution to the wind, I gave Bella a hug, and was thrilled when she hugged me back. "Thanks for a great day. I had a lot of fun."

"Me, too." She stood on her porch and watched me ride away.


	12. Changes

Bella POV

I stood on the porch long after the sight and sound of Embry and his bike had disappeared. My body still tingled from his hug, and I would almost swear that I could still smell his scent. I remained motionless, trying to pull my thoughts into some kind of order.

The fact that Embry had just pulled me in and hugged me was a surprise, but not one—or so I decided—that bothered me. And now I wondered if I ought to be bothered that it _didn't _bother me. Hadn't I just decided the other day that I wasn't ready to even think about a new relationship, much less actually start one? Hadn't I been a little uncomfortable today at the idea that Jake and Quil might be arguing about me? And did Embry's comment about me being worth them fighting over mean him, too? Did I want _that_?

Knowing that Charlie would be coming home soon, I pulled the chicken out of the fridge. I transferred the meat out of the marinade and into the oven to cook. Then I sat down for a much-needed think. I realized that it didn't hurt anymore to think about Edward—at least not very much. More than anything, I was mad at how he'd made all the decisions without even considering what I wanted. I was mad at his family, too, for not even bothering to say goodbye to me. But I'd spent way too long pining over them, and that had to stop right now.

I'd made a start already, by filling my days with time with friends. The girls were great. I'd miss Leah when she went off to college, but we'd keep in touch. Jessica and Angela, I knew, would help me through any bad moments at school this fall. And if Embry actually did come to Forks for some classes…

I had enjoyed spending time with Embry from the beginning. He might have saved me from a fall that first day, but he didn't smother me the way Edward always had. And while on the first day, he might have cooked my breakfast without taking my order, the way he'd apologized for it—and hadn't repeated it since—proved he cared about and listened to my opinions.

But, what was different about Embry compared to Jake or to Quil? Jake was—had always—been a good friend, making sure I felt welcome during my sporadic trips to Forks growing up. But did I, could I, see him as anything more? Could this friendship become something more? Should it? Was it hang-ups keeping me from taking a chance? Or was it knowing how things ought to be between Jake and me, and keeping us from making a mistake that would ruin everything?

I just didn't see Jake as more than a friend—didn't think that was best for us—and the same thing for Quil. He was funny to be around, but he seemed to be a little more of the goofball than either of his friends. Maybe it was just taking that role in their trio, and maybe it was just me acting way older than my age the way I tended to do, but whatever it was, Quil wasn't who I saw myself with either.

And Embry? The more I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe I could see that 'more' with him—or at least I wanted to see if that was going to be the way for us to go.

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Bella POV

"Bells, where's your truck?"

"It started acting up today, Dad, so I took down to La Push for Jake to look it over."

"Nice of him to do that, and to bring you all the way back to town, too."

"It is, but Embry's the one who brought me back."

"In his car?"

"He doesn't have one. His mom offered hers." Which was true, even though we hadn't taken her up on that offer.

"So he brought you back in his mom's car?" This was starting to take on the tone of a parental inquisition, which made me start to think that Charlie knew about this part of my day and was testing me concerning it.

"No. He brought me back on his motorcycle."

"Bella—"

"I was perfectly safe. Embry's a great driver and I was all covered up." I pulled out my phone and showed him the picture I'd asked Embry to take as evidence. I knew where my dad was coming from on this—as a cop, he'd seen too many accidents involving motorcycles and reckless riders. But I wasn't going to have him blame Embry for it, not when he wasn't like those fools and when nothing had happened to me. I wasn't sorry I'd ridden with Embry and wasn't going to apologize for it; neither was I going to promise never to do it again. Given that Tiffany Call's riding gear was stored in my room at the moment, I was hopeful of at least one more ride just to get it back down to her.

"Okay," my dad finally said, accepting my evidence of safety. "Gonna do it again?"

"I don't know. Embry hasn't asked me to, but if he did I'd probably say yes."

Charlie thought about that for a moment, and then nodded. I figured he'd keep going with the same topic, but he surprised me by changing the subject. "So, what's for supper?"

"Marinated chicken and slow-cooked vegetables. Embry helped while he was here, so I gave him some to take home."

"Nice of you."

"Only seemed fair that he get some of the reward after putting in the work."

"Fair. Any reason Jake and Quil didn't get their share, or are you going to wait until they're done with your truck?"

"I guess we'll see. They kinda got into it with each other this morning, so I'm not sure how much time they had to work on the truck after Billy got done lecturing them. He said Jake would call me when the truck was ready."

"I'm gonna get cleaned up. How long have I got until dinner's ready?"

I glanced at the clock. "About 15 minutes."

"I'll be down."

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"That was great, Bells."

"Thanks. But I wasn't able to get all my errands done before the truck problems, so if we want stuff to eat tomorrow, we'll need to go to the store tonight."

I heroically kept a straight face when my dad realized that he'd have to trade off watching the Mariners play in order to be able to eat. If it weren't illegal, I almost think he would have just handed me the keys to his cruiser and sent me off. But that wasn't an option. He ended up solving the problem by taking along a portable radio and sitting in the parking lot while I got the groceries. I think we both hoped that Jake's repair job wouldn't take too long.

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Jake POV

"Jacob! Quil!" My dad's voice cut through the argument raging between us. I was very familiar with that no-nonsense tone, and knew that ignoring it never meant good things for me, so I started moving with Quil behind me. Coming out of the garage, I saw my dad waiting near the house, but no sign of either Bella or Embry.

"Where's Bella?" I asked.

"Embry's taking her home," Dad told me. "Don't think she wanted to be around that argument of yours. What was that about, anyway?"

"This idiot doesn't think I can fix Bella's truck," I jerked my thumb back toward Quil, and farther back to the truck in question.

"I didn't say that!"

"That's what you meant!" I snarled. Quil started to back away and for some reason that infuriated me. "Stop!" I heard some tone-noises behind me and my dad's hushed voice, but ignored them all, my focus on Quil's still-retreating form.

"Jake, look at me. Leave him alone," Dad tried to soothe me, but the rage gripping me wouldn't listen. What I did listen to was the sound of others now approaching. Three figures emerged from the woods, shoeless and wearing only ragged cut-off shorts; three people I didn't want to see: Sam Uley and his flunkies, Paul and Jared.

"We've got this, Billy," Sam's deep voice announced. "Jacob, Quil, come on. Let's get into the woods."

I didn't want to move, didn't plan to, yet I couldn't stop myself from doing what he said. Some instinct of self-preservation had Quil and I close together, our animosity forgotten. Sam was in front of us, Jared and Paul to either side.

"Saw the truck, so where's the driver? We gonna have the ex-leech-lover come running out here to join the party?"

I barely heard the voices snap "Paul" over the roaring in my ears. How dare he talk about Bella like that! The next thing I knew, I felt like my body was tearing apart, turning inside out like that freaky _Galaxy Quest_ alien. Then…

_Calm down, both of you!_ Sam ordered.

_Wha-a-a-?_ Quil managed_._

_Just breathe, okay? You'll be fine,_ Jared's voice suggested.

_What were you thinking, Paul?_

_Like you weren't worried about the same thing. Besides, it got them to phase, didn't it?_

_Phase?_ I asked.

_Look down,_ Jared advised, sounding amused.

I did, and realized I was lookingfarther down than normal, and at a set of furry paws. _What?!_

_You're a wolf now, Jacob. A protector,_ Sam told me.

_You mean…?_

A huge black wolf stepped toward me. _Yes. All the stories your dad told you growing up are true. We are the latest spirit warriors to protect our tribe, and you two just joined us._

_Protect the tribe from what_—?I started to ask, before I remembered what the stories said. Then I couldn't help thinking about that day on the beach earlier this year, when I'd told those stories to Bella.

_What?! _A chorus of voices demanded.

_What the hell were you thinking?_

_How? What?_

_Why would you tell an outsider the stories? And an outsider who ran around with the bloodsuckers?_

The cacophony in my head was deafening. Desperate to escape it, the paws I'd suddenly acquired dug into the ground and I tore forward.

_Jacob!_

_Stop, Jacob!_

I didn't listen. I just ran.

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Sam POV

_Paul, take the patrol loop. Jared, see to Quil here, alright?_

Both agreed. I didn't like giving Jacob any more of a head start than he'd gotten already, but I knew I had to give Billy some kind of an update. So I phased back but then didn't have anything to put on—I'd shredded my shorts phasing in response to Jacob and Quil. I moved to the edge of the trees, still staying under cover, and pitched my voice toward where our chief sat in front of his house.

"They both phased. Jared's taking care of Quil, and I'm going after Jacob."

"Going after him?"

"He panicked and ran. Don't worry—I'll find him." Remembering what Paul had said to provoke the phases, I added, "Is she still here?"

"No," he replied. "Embry is taking her home. Neither one of them saw anything."

"Good. Keep them both away. I'm not sure that Jake will have any easier of a time adjusting to this than I did."

"I'll do my best. Now, go find my son."

With the necessary information given, I turned and phased. _Jacob?_

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AN: So now Jake and Quil are wolves. Had originally planned on a chapter with more in it, but I'll give you this now and work on the "more" for the next one.


	13. Overload

Blackenedwolf: Glad you liked the last chapter and I hope this one came soon enough.

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Narrator POV

Billy spun the wheelchair around and began to push himself up the ramp and back into the house. His chair now seemed to have iron weights attached, even though he knew it was just an illusion. From the day of Jacob's birth, Billy had wondered whether his only son would be spared or ensnared by his tribal heritage. Now he knew. With a heavy heart, the Quileute chief started calling the other members of the tribal council to pass along the news about Jacob and Quil. They would need to have a meeting.

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Jacob POV

_Jacob_!The voice of Sam Uley was still there.

_And I always will be. Sorry._ He did sound regretful. _I am. Do you mind stopping? This'll be a lot easier if we aren't running at the same time._

With effort, I slowed down and stopped. I sank to the ground and waited. After a while, I heard padding footfalls and saw the black wolf again.

_Thank you._

_You're welcome,_ I didn't care that I sounded sarcastic. _So what did you mean about always being there?_

_One part of it is that I'm the Alpha of the pack, so that means that everyone else is my responsibility. The other part of it is that when we're phased like this we can hear each other's thoughts. Great for coordinating, but not so great for keeping anything private._

_Yeah, we get to see all the good stuff with you and the missus,_ Paul added. I caught a flash of what he meant and gagged.

_Shut up. And don't ever mention that, or I'll make sure that Emily adds something extra to your next muffin that'll make sure you tell all of us just how often a wolf can go in the woods._

The threat was a good one because Paul did shut up. He focused on his own running and I could see the trees whipping past him.

_We can see through each other's eyes, too,_ Sam continued.

_Joy._

_Only thing we can do is try not to think_ _about stuff while we're phased. It isn't easy and doesn't always work, but it's the only option we've got._

_So what's the rest of the good news?_

_You probably noticed your growth spurt lately. You'll likely be a bit bigger than that now that you've phased._

_That's us: big mean killing machines, _Paul cut back in. Clearly he was a lot like Quil: couldn't stay quiet for long, threat or no threat.

_Hey!_ Both Paul and Quil objected to that one.

_Killing…Protector…_ Things started falling into place. _Cold Ones._

_Vampires. Leeches. Bloodsuckers._

_Bella! Cullens!_

_Yeah,_ Sam agreed. _Same ones our great-grandfather's made the treaty with seventy years ago, plus a couple of new members._

_Bella?_

_I don't know how much she knew or whether she learned it just from you or from them, too, but yes, she does seem to have known what they were._

_She knew?_ And suddenly that day on the beach took on a new tone: had she played me to get information?

_I didn't_ _say that. You know her better than I do, of course, but I've never heard her be accused of being that kind of person. I have heard her described as being really smart and observant, though. If you told her the stories we all learned, then the most you actually __**told**__ her was about the treaty and the names 'Cold One' and 'vampire',_ Sam was really insistent and convincing.

_Besides,_ Paul offered, _even if she did 'pump you for information', it might not have been her idea: they can mind-blitz their prey, right? Maybe it was them using her to see how much the tribe knew or remembered about them._

_That's actually not a bad idea,_ Sam considered_. _Then_, Jared, how's Quil doing?_

_Trying not to freak out, _Quil said, before Jared had a chance.

_He's like a whirlwind of energy,_ Jared added. _No way he'd be able to phase back yet._

_Let's meet up and run this off, _Sam decided. _We can start showing you the patrol routes and stuff at the same time._

We all started running, the older wolves showing Quil and me how to use what we saw from them to figure out where they were and what was going on.

_Hey, Sam?_

_Yeah, Jacob?_

_You know, just 'Jake' is fine. 'Jacob' makes me think I'm in trouble._

_Okay. Yeah, Jake?_

_Ha-ha! Why didn't you want me to be mad at Bella for that day at the beach?_

I got the feeling that this was something Sam hadn't been ready to get into just yet.

_No, I don't want you to be mad at her,_ he replied. _For one thing, I haven't seen anything that says she deserves it. For another, she's been hurt badly enough as it is. _And then Sam thought about what she'd looked like the night he and the others had found Bella in the woods. Those images cut me to the core, and I started running faster in a vain effort to escape them.

_Damn it, not again, _Sam growled. _Jacob, __**STOP!**_ The force of the command had me skidding to a halt in a spray of leaves and forest clutter.

Sam got in front of me, nudging me with his muzzle until I looked up at him. _She's fine now, Jake. You helped bring her back from that. You woke her up in the hospital, helped her smile and laugh again. Which is a third reason I didn't want you to be angry with her. I think Bella will be your imprint._

_Imprint? What's that?_ I remembered a little something from science classes: about baby animals bonding with the first thing they saw after they were born, but I didn't think that made sense for here.

_No, it doesn't, _Sam's voice chuckled. _Imprinting is what happens when a wolf finds his soul-mate, the woman who's perfect for him._

Before I could help it, all of my hopes and dreams about Bella blazed out for everyone to see and experience. I'd felt that she and I were meant for each other, and to get magical confirmation of it was like the icing on the cake. Anything would be worth having that. I couldn't wait to see her again and tell her everything.

_You will be able to tell her everything, but not just yet._

_Why not?_

_Because you need to get used to being a wolf first, _Sam obviously caught my irritation. _Jake, think back to earlier: how you got angry and phased._

_Okay. So?_

_So what would happen if you got angry like that and Bella was close by? The last thing in the world you'd want is to hurt her, right?_ Imagination spun pictures of Bella, broken and bleeding on the ground, horribly scarred and disfigured.

_No,_ I moaned. _Never._

_It won't happen,_ Sam agreed. _But that means_ _you have to get the wolf under control before you see her again. Then, just look into her eyes and— _I could see in Sam's mind how one look at his imprint Emily had changed him, and Jared showed me how his world had shifted when he'd seen Kim for the first time after she'd come back to La Push at semester break last year.

_Imprinting will change you in ways you can't imagine, _Jared said. _Sam's right, though—you don't want to hurt Bella, physically or any other way. Just because she seems to know about vampires doesn't mean she knows about anything else. And just because you'll be able to tell her all of it doesn't mean you should blurt it out all at once._

_How do you feel now, Jake?_

_I just turned into a huge wolf tonight, Sam. How __**should**__ I feel?_

_We've all been through this, too. We know it's not easy having your life turned upside down. But we're brothers now—any one of us will help you any way we can,_ the Alpha in Sam offered the assurance he saw Quil and I both needed.

I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together.

_Council's got to be waiting by now,_ Paul said.

_I know,_ Sam told him.

_The Council?_ Quil asked.

_The tribal Council knows about the pack. They help us with stipends and advice._

_My grandpa? He knew this was going to happen?_

_Yeah. _A heavy sigh.

_He didn't tell me anything!_

_Quil, he couldn't. No one could. That's the rule. Until someone actually phases, they aren't told anything._

Something hit me then. _My dad knew, too, right?_ I didn't wait for the inevitable confirmation before I started running back home.

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AN: A little shorter than I usually like to give you, but I need to figure how to play out what I know comes next. So you get this now to give me time to plot, and so you don't have to wait. Enjoy. Reviews welcome. As a note, I'm considering a rating upgrade on this story. So if you're underage or opposed to the upgrade, give me some feedback so I can factor it into my decision process. I could always post the enhanced version of this elsewhere (like I did with "The Wolf and His Girl"), but I'm not sure if that's really how I want to do it or not.


	14. Cracks

AN: I haven't gotten too many responses on the potential rating change, but I am leaning toward doing it and having one consistent version between here and Tricky Raven, as I don't think my brain can cope with writing two similar yet different versions of the same story at the same time. I'll try to give warning before the upgrade hits. If you do happen to be reading this and are underage for the higher rating…please don't tell me.

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Sam POV

_Jacob!_ I called out. In no time at all, Jake had closed most of the distance between where we'd been and his house.

_Damn, he's fast._

_No joke, Paul,_ Jared shot back.

_Stop, damn it!_ Once again, my Alpha order stopped Jake in his tracks. I hated using it—avoided it as much as possible, in fact—but Jake just wasn't giving me much of a choice today. We caught up to Jake, and to Quil, who'd followed him as faithfully as ever.

_I don't want you to blame your dad for this—or your grandfather, either,_ I said to my newest brothers. _They both hoped you wouldn't have to go through this. It would have been pointless and even cruel if they'd told you it __**might**__ happen only for it then to not occur. They wanted to spare you the disappointment they went through._

_So instead we get the shock and pain, huh?_

_Unfortunately, yes._

_So why weren't they sure whether it would happen? And why did it happen at all? _Quil asked. He wasn't as visibly pissed as Jake was, but it was still there.

_It doesn't always happen. It takes having guys in the right bloodlines and being in the right age range, plus having the trigger present. If even one factor isn't there: no wolves._

_Trigger?_

_A vampire._

_But the Cullens are gone! They left over a month ago. How could we be just fine all the time they were here only to go through this as soon as they leave?_

_I know. But we've had a different one, a red-eyed one, circling around lately, plus another one that just joined her. I think they're what triggered it for the two of you._

When both boys started repeating _didn't warn us, didn't tell,_ it became clear that the exceptional calm and acceptance they had show up until now had only been temporary. The last thing I wanted was for them to lose it again in the middle of the impending council meeting. _Jacob, Quil: go run this off. Jared, Paul: go with them. Maybe it'll wear them out enough that we can all phase back tonight._

_Sure,_ Jared agreed on behalf of them all. As he and Paul started shepherding the other pair away from the heart of the rez, he added, _Good thing it's still the middle of summer, huh? Gives them a bit over a month to get a handle on this before school starts up again._

_Good thing_ _I had a trial run with you and Paul then, isn't it?_

I stayed phased in for a few minutes, making sure that my senior wolves had the junior ones under control. Then I took a deep breath and ran to my home to grab a pair of shorts. Much as I really didn't want a council meeting after the day I'd had, I wasn't about to disrespect the elders by attending it stark naked. In what seemed like a perfect punctuation mark, it was raining now.

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Billy POV

I had stayed outside for a while after the boys had vanished into the trees before going inside to summon the rest of the council. Now I sat at my kitchen table, Quil on one side of me, and Harry on the other. Sue sat on Harry's other side, and young Quil's mother Joy opposite her.

Off in the distance, a series of howls sounded. Soon after, and much closer, came loud growls and snarls. A louder, deeper bark abruptly cut everything off. My heart broke at the realization that one of them must be Jacob. How could I face my son and his inevitable and justifiable anger? The silence lasted for several minutes, but no one got up to see what might be going on outside. That might have changed if Sam hadn't strode into my house just then, faint wisps of steam rising into the air as the rain droplets on his shoulders evaporated.

"Sam," I greeted.

"Billy."

"Where's my son?" Joy interrupted. "All anyone will tell me is that something happened. Where's my baby?"

"Jacob and young Quil both phased today. As of now, the pack stands at five," answered Sam.

"Pack? Phased? Dad, what's he talking about?" Joy appealed to her father-in-law.

"Joy," I sighed, "certain families in our tribe have a special heritage. Under the right circumstances, the sons of these families can transform into the protectors of the tribe and become wolves. Sam was the first in this generation to transform, to phase. He is the leader, the Alpha. Jared Cameron and Paul Lahote joined him next, and now my Jacob and your Quil have also joined."

"Where is he?" Joy wasn't having a breakdown over these revelations, but her mother's instincts to worry about her only child were likely taking precedence.

"They're all out running," Sam replied. "The boys got a little…upset when they found out you two," he gestured to Quil and to me, "knew it was happening but didn't warn them. I decided it would be best for them to cool off a bit before coming home again—not that they could have phased back when they were that angry anyway."

Joy's look at Quil now was furious rather than pleading. "You knew?"

He held a hand out to her that went ignored. "I hoped he'd be spared. When I knew he wouldn't be…the law says that the boys and their families are told nothing until it happens, to protect everyone."

Everyone was quiet for a while as Joy Ateara verbally tore into her son's grandfather. "How did this happen...What if I'd been with him when it happened…how could you ever think silence was best…what happens now… ?" Between us, we of the tribal council tried to answer all of her questions.

When she had finally subsided, quietly crying into a dishtowel that Sue had handed to her, I took my opportunity to ask about my own son. I was discouraged to hear of Jacob's anger and lack of control. But I had every confidence that with Sam's guidance and Jacob's rightful status as Alpha, that he would soon become everything he was meant to be. "And the imprinting?" I asked at the end.

"He was thrilled."

The unfamiliar term brought Joy's head up, along with a demand for an answer, which Sam provided, along with the name of the girl who would become Jacob's imprint.

"Why are you so sure that it's Jacob?" she wanted to know. "Didn't my son phase today, too? I'm not in any way condoning taking away all of her choices, but what if Bella Swan isn't meant for Jacob?"

Her words brought instant silence.

"Sh—oot," Sam cut off the expletive everyone knew he really wanted to use.

"Could it be true?" Sue wondered.

"I'm sure she's meant to be an imprint," the pack's Alpha replied. "She wasn't for Paul, and with the way Jacob brought her out of her funk and sickness, I just assumed…" Sam's voice trailed off and he ran his hands through his short-cropped hair. All of us were reminded of just how young he still was and what weight he carried. "The instincts didn't go beyond the protectiveness that confirmed a future imprinting; it didn't identify the wolf in question. So, yes, I suppose it _could_ be Quil. Damn it, I shouldn't have said anything about it to Jacob yet, not before he had a chance to see her again. Billy, he's absolutely in love with Bella, and if she's truly meant for Quil…If it weren't blasphemous, I could hate Taha Aki right now. The last thing I need on top of everything else is a love triangle in the pack."

"Another love triangle, you mean," Sue corrected. "You'd do better to thank Taha Aki instead of curse him: if girls could phase too, then Leah would be a sure bet to join your little pack, considering Harry's and my families. Leah in the pack would make your life an utter and complete hell on earth."

Sue's words made more than just Sam wince. She might have had to accept working with Sam on official tribal business, but Sue Uley Clearwater was a fierce mama bear when it came to her children, and she'd no more forgiven Sam for breaking Leah's heart than Leah herself had.

Sam knew that, just as he knew that he'd had no choice about imprinting on Emily, or Jared on Kim. Neither would whichever of our new wolves ended up being the one to imprint on Bella. But he—we—also knew that Sue didn't care about any of that.

"I'm going to go check in with the others. I don't think we're up to covering anything else here tonight, so I'd advise everyone to go home. Billy, Quil, Joy, if the boys aren't home by bedtime, please don't wait up for them. There's nothing to talk about that can't wait for tomorrow morning. And all this assumes they're able to phase back tonight."

When Joy asked what he meant, Sam's explanation of how long it had taken him to become human again after his first phase made her pale and start to cry again.

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Embry POV

As Bella had predicted, my mom was indeed stunned by both my attendance at dinner and by the fact that I was the one who brought dinner home.

"She's a good cook," Mom observed, stacking both our empty plates to carry over to the sink.

"Hey! I helped."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. You did good work, too," she paused. "Is there anything there that I need to ask about?"

"Mom!" I blushed, embarrassed.

"Embry, you can't expect me not to notice when a simple ride home turns into spending the whole day together _and_ cooking a meal. I don't mean to embarrass you, but…do you like her?"

"Yeah," I admitted it out loud for the first time. "She's smart, the right mix of funny and serious, beautiful, kind, caring, strong…"

"Have you told her this?"

"Some of it. But not all of it, or the liking part."

"Why not?"

"Well, she just got dumped at the beginning of the summer. She's not a rebounder, and I wouldn't want to be the reboundee, either. Besides…"

"Besides what?" My mom was great at drawing a conversation out of me.

"I'm almost positive—no, I am sure—that Jake likes her."

"So there's a 'guy rule' just like there's a 'girl rule'?"

"Girls rule?"

"The girl rule is that you don't date a guy that one of your friends used to date, is dating, or wants to date."

"Yeah, that's about what the rule is. Our rule includes sisters as well as any other girls past, present, or future."

"Well, Bella isn't his sister, so you're safe there. Have the two of you talked about him liking her?"

"Mom! No, we haven't."

"Has he talked to Bella about it?"

"I don't think so. Not that I've heard about, anyway."

"I do understand what you mean, and I admire you for respecting Jacob enough to not want to step in front of him. But…if he hasn't made a move, then I don't see anything wrong in approaching her to find out for sure. If she's interested in you, then I'm sure she'll say so, and if she'd rather be with Jacob, she'll say that instead. I'd hate to see you lose out on a chance with a wonderful girl just because you're worried about what _might_ happen."

"Thanks, Mom. I'll think about it and I guess we'll see."

Even though I usually helped with the dishes if I was home, Mom shooed me out of the kitchen, saying that "the cook doesn't clean". With nothing else that I absolutely had to do, I decided to head over to Jacob's to see how much he'd gotten done on Bella's truck after his dad's lecture. But when I got there, the truck was still sitting in front of the garage doors just like it had been when I'd left here hours ago, and with no sign that Jake had done anything with it at all. I started to head for the front door, but I must have been spotted because Jake's dad wheeled outside before I got close.

"Jake can't have visitors tonight, Embry."

"Oh. Okay. Any news on the truck?"

"No. Sorry."

I felt my eyes narrow at Billy's short answers. Maybe he was still just upset about Jake's explosion earlier, but it honestly hadn't been that bad. And even if it had been, that didn't explain why I was getting this now.

"Okay. Would you tell him I stopped by and asked about it? I'm sure Bella' already wondering when she'll get it back."

"I'll tell him. Have a good night." And with that, Billy turned his chair around and pushed himself back inside. The door closed, and I just stood there, wondering just what in the world was going on around here.


	15. Jagged Edges

AN: Fair warning, this one's an emotional roller-coaster. Enjoy.

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Bella POV

Leah came over for what would be one of the last times. Even though her classes at Washington State University in Pullman didn't start until the end of August, her future roommate and future roommate—Rachel Black, Jake's sister—had connected her with a great student job opportunity, so Leah would be heading to college early.

"Earth to Bella," Leah waved her hand in front of my face. "You going all spacey on me again, girl?"

"What? No!" I insisted. And I wasn't. I was just trying to decide whether or not to say what I was thinking about.

"Uh-huh," she clearly didn't buy it. "You've been off in la-la land for a while. What's up?"

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "Leah, how do you let someone know you're interested in them?"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Leah threw her hands up. "I'm flattered and all, and you're a great girl, but I don't lean that way."

My face flamed. "Gah! No, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not—"

"Just kidding. I know. So, who is it, and how obvious do you want to be? Fair warning: most guys seem to need the really obvious."

I took a deep breath. "Embry. But he isn't most guys."

"Embry Call, huh? No, I'd agree that he isn't 'most guys'."

"No."

"So, you're interested in him. Is he interested in you?"

Another blush. "I don't know."

Leah's eyebrows lifted. "You don't know? Does he spend time with you? Willingly?"

"Yes."

"Even without the other guys?"

"Yes."

"Has he done things for you, just because? And I don't mean catching you that first day."

I shared how Embry had given me that ride home yesterday, and how he'd then stayed for the rest of the day.

"He likes you," Leah judged. "Guys don't just do that for a girl unless they like them, not even if the guy is as nice as Embry."

"But how do I—we—get from here to wherever it could go?" I groaned.

Leah laughed. "We're making progress here. So you like him, and you'd like it if he liked you?"

"I think so."

"So to make that to happen…you could always try asking him."

"I can't do that! Leah, the whole reason I asked you what to do is because I don't know! No one was ever interested in me back in Phoenix, and here…I had guys all over me without me doing or saying a single thing. I've never done this on purpose!"

"And I'll bet every girl secretly hated you for it. The girl who didn't have to try to make the boys interested…well, then maybe you won't have to do much at all. I don't really know Embry other than by reputation, but I've never heard anyone call him stupid. If he sees any interest from you, I bet he'll say or do something. If he does, are going to give him a chance?"

"I think so. He's…good."

"Let me know what happens. And Bella?"

'Yes?"

"You _could_ always just tell him."

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Leah had to leave after lunch to take care of some things for her mom. There were things I would have liked to do, but without my truck, I was somewhat hampered. Granted, Forks wasn't all that big of a town, but with the way so many businesses stretched out so far along the highway that ran through town, it wasn't always convenient to walk everywhere. Thus reminded, I picked up the phone and tapped out the digits for Jake's house. There was no answer. I figured that Billy might have gone to visit someone on the reservation, and Jake was probably working on my truck out in the garage. For the rest of the day, I kept myself as busy as I could around the house, doing a long-overdue deep cleaning. Every so often I would call Jake again, but always with the same result. Finally, just when I had decided that this call would be the last of the day, someone finally answered.

"Hello?"

"Billy, hi, it's Bella."

"Hi, Bella."

"Um, is Jake there?"

"No, sorry."

"Oh, okay. Do you know if he's finished with the truck yet?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, but then I can't make it out there in the chair. Jake didn't mention it being ready, so he must still have stuff to do with it."

"Oh, well, do you know how long it might take? I really don't want to have to depend on Charlie and his cruiser for transportation, you know?"

"Guess not," Billy laughed. Maybe I was just imagining things, but it almost seemed like his laughter was a little bit forced. "I'll check with him and see, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks." I set the receiver back in the cradle and thought _what in the world was that all about? Billy's never been rude like that before—not even when he found out about me and Edward._

I wasn't sure what to do next. But then I remembered my talk with Leah and decided to try and be bold. Settling on my bed with my cell phone, I started tapping out a message to Embry.

(B): Hey, good day?

(E): Not really.

(B): Why?

(E): Jerks

(B): Who?

(E): J & Q

(B): What? Why?

(E): Dunno

(B): What did they say?

(E): Nothing. Ignored me.

(B): You too?

(E): You too?

(B): Yeah. Billy strange too.

I waited for a reply from Embry but had my phone start ringing instead. "Hi."

"Figured calling would be easier than an endless stream of texts. I don't know what your phone plan is like, but I don't have unlimited texts on mine."

"Nope. So what's going on?"

"I wish I knew. I stopped by Jake's place last night and honestly Billy was a bit rude in making me leave."

"He was pretty short with me on the phone just a little while ago when I finally got through," I agreed.

"And then today…"

(flashback)

Embry POV

That I woke up in the morning wondering what Jake had planned for us today was typically normal. That I immediately second-guessed it wasn't so normal. I realized that Jake and Quil's problem yesterday, and then Billy's attitude last night both smarted a lot more than I'd expected them to. And I didn't have a clue if anything would have changed now or not. So I didn't call or walk over like I could have. Instead, I spent the morning working outside, mowing the yard and trimming some bushes. I left Mom's flowerbeds alone, as I didn't want to face her wrath if I pulled something I wasn't supposed to.

But after lunch, I decided I'd put it off as long as I could, so I headed to Jake's. Jake wasn't the only stubborn one in our group—I could be, too, when I really needed to.

I glanced over at the garage when I got there. Somehow I wasn't too surprised to see that Bella's truck hadn't moved an inch and the garage doors were shut. I actually made it up to the door this time without getting spotted. Even though I always just walked right in, something made me knock this time. It took forever for Billy to open the door, which was also unusual. But his look of displeasure was just like the one from last night.

"Hey, Billy," I said, trying to play it like nothing was different. "Jake around?"

"No, sorry."

"Think he'll be back later?"

"I don't know when. He's got some tribal work to do and it may take a while."

"So I guess the truck is still on his to-do list, huh?"

"Yep."

"Okay. Guess I'll see him later." I turned and started down the ramp—I could get the hint that I wasn't welcome right now. I wasn't a masochist to let myself get dumped on by anyone else. Somehow my feet carried me over to Bella's truck, again wondering about things. It was strange how Billy was all of a sudden going all 'tribal heritage' on Jake. I mean, yeah, we were all getting closer to eighteen, but still… And to have that take priority when Billy had to know Bella was counting on getting her truck fixed soon was even less in character. It was like he didn't care about Jake keeping his promise.

I didn't feel like going home, so I walked down to the beach instead. Old Mr. Pelletier was there like he often was and his dog with him.

"Hi, Mr. Pelletier," I greeted. He nodded, never much for speaking. The collie danced, begging for attention.

"Want me to wear her out for you?" Again he nodded, and bent down to unclip the leash from the dog's collar. I found a good stick and threw it down the beach. Off the dog went in a mad dash.

Between being outside, the calm of the beach, and the satisfaction of helping a senior citizen and his dog, I felt better by the time I headed home. On my way, I stopped to see if Quil was home. Maybe he knew what was going on with Jake. There were no answers at the Ateara's—just a near repeat of what I'd found over at Jake's. Naturally, my good mood evaporated. At home, I holed up in my room and stared at the wall. I couldn't figure anything out and it bugged me that everything had changed without warning or explanation.

I was drawn from my thoughts by my phone chirping to signal a new text message. My first thought—that it was Jake or Quil saying that they were sorry—was wrong. It was Bella, wanting to know about my day.

(end flashback)

"I'm sorry," I told her, winding down from my story. "Didn't mean to dump on you like that."

"It's okay. I know all about bad days. And I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know. You're my friend, Embry, and I want to help if I can—even if it's only to listen."

"Thanks, Bella."

"Any time," she said, and I could tell that she meant it. But then I was confused when she sighed.

"What about you? Bad day, too?" And she told me about a normal—for her—day of cleaning and also her realization of how hard it would be for her to get things done without a vehicle. Deciding to take my mom's advice, I asked, "Want a chauffeur while your truck's in the shop?"

"You?"

"Yeah."

"It's an incredible offer, but—"my heart sank—"I can't ask you to do that. It's a half-hour drive in for you, and you've got to have better things to do than drive me around," Bella continued.

"Not right now. Besides, I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to."

Bella laughed when I gave her back her own words. "Okay, I believe you. Thanks, Embry. I'm glad you're able to help me out and that you want to."

"Just say when."

"When."

It was my turn to laugh. "Ha ha. Seriously, just say when you need to go somewhere."

"Is 9 AM too early?"

"Nope. Works for me."

"If you want to come a little earlier, I'd offer breakfast."

"For that, you can shave my head, wax my legs, and use me for a surfboard."

I heard a strangled noise and then a thud.

"Bella?"

"Use you as a surfboard?" she choked.

"What?"

Bella repeated herself and I realized that the quote I thought I'd thought had actually been said out loud.

"Oh hell. I'm sorry, Bella. That was total word vomit. I didn't mean to say that."

"Um, okay. Was it supposed to mean something?"

"It's a movie quote. Let me guess: you've never seen the _Mummy_ movies, either, have you?"

"No…"

"Want to?"

"How scary are they?"

"I'd say that they aren't scary at all. It's funny more than anything else. But, if you're scared feel free to hold my hand if you need to."

"Okay."

"Okay to what?"

"Both, I guess."

If I wasn't lying on my bed, I'd be dancing around my room right now. In my subtle way, I'd asked, and in her own subtle way, Bella had answered. I knew I'd have to ask more directly, and sooner rather than later, but I'd be happy with this for the moment.

"Sweet dreams, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow. You bring the breakfast, I'll bring the movies."

"Alright. You, too."

Setting my phone on my dresser, I suspected my dreams would be good ones indeed.

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Sam POV

I used my wolf-grace to slip into my house without waking up my sleeping wife and son. I was exhausted and more than exhausted by the past day and a half. Once their fear and anger had been unleashed, there was no calming either Jake or Quil back down. They'd run themselves ragged last night like I'd hoped, but it hadn't been enough to let them phase back. They had finally worn themselves into a restless sleep, which had let me cycle Jared, Paul, and myself through some short naps, though nothing like what we really needed. Things had returned to the same cycle when the sun rose, punctuated by a second visit by Embry to Jake's house, and a first visit to Quil's, plus countless phone calls to the Black residence that had to be Bella. Thankfully, Billy didn't have an answering machine, so we had all been spared actually hearing what she was calling to say. But both the new boys had gotten even more upset when they'd caught what Billy had said to their friend during today's visit. It had taken an Alpha order to keep them quiet and in the woods where they couldn't be seen.

And if all that hadn't been enough, the fact that we were all still wolfed-out meant that today's meals had to be wolf-style as well. The three of us had gotten to where we could handle it alright—though we definitely didn't enjoy it if we had any choice—but Jake and Quil…well, it was yet one more thing for them to spew invective over.

Quil had finally gotten calmed down enough that he could phase back to human and go home. Jacob, though, was still furry. Knowing that I'd need to be on my game to handle him, I'd pulled Alpha rank and detailed Jared and Paul to stay out with him tonight so that I could go home for a little restorative time with my family.

Emily stirred when my weight shifted the mattress. "How bad?" she murmured, snuggling close to me.

"They both phased. Quil's home with his mom and grandfather, but Jake's still out with the boys. I need some sleep and food, and then I'll go back out."

"Okay." With that, we both fell asleep.


	16. More than Just Friends

AN: Sorry this took a little while. I was in overdrive trying to catch up on a favorite show before the new season premiered, and had a bit of a struggle getting into the head of a teenage guy in this one. I hope I've managed it, and that the longer than usual chapter makes up for it. Thanks to mc7575 for the affirmation that an idea worked and to feebes for an early draft read.

I've also gone ahead and upped the rating on the story, as I had been considering. There will be future language and lemony content. So if you're underage, please consider whether you should keep reading…and please don't tell me your age if you stay with the story.

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Embry POV

I love my mom, I really do. She's always made sure I've had what I needed and a fair bit of what I've wanted—probably giving up her own wants in the process. Like today with her car. She hadn't batted an eye last night when I asked her if I could borrow it. In fact, she'd grinned when I told her that I'd offered to help Bella get her errands done. I didn't mind, though—I'd been grinning, too.

As much as I always enjoyed hanging with the guys, I was equally—if not more—excited for my day with Bella. Even doing the errands and chores would be fun because she'd be there. But I was most looking forward to our movie marathon. Hopefully Bella would even find them scary enough for the hand-holding, or maybe just pretend that she did. That repartee yesterday had been unexpected—but something I hoped we'd repeat. Just like I wouldn't mind any food she cared to offer. But if we hung out like this often…_please let us do this often…_then I'd have to insist on a sharing of the load. Equal to the excitement, though, was the nervousness. I'd never done this before: hung out with a girl just the two of us, not when it was prearranged, and definitely not when either of us had ever given the 'like' signal.

I pulled into the empty driveway at Bella's house, grabbed the DVD cases from the passenger seat, and walked up to the house. The door opened a minute or so after I rang the bell. Bella stood just inside, biting her lip for a second before she smiled. "Hi."

"Hey, there. Something smells good."

"Oh!" she started to spin around toward the kitchen, and one foot went skidding. I took a step forward and my arm shot out to keep her from hitting the floor. I meant to grab hold of her under her arm, but I misjudged or else I moved faster than I thought, because it was my wrist instead of my hand that braced under her arm. My fingers reflexively curled up and brushed against what I objectively knew was the side of Bella's breast. The second that that realization hit, my body reacted just like any teenage guy's would: I went from zero to sixty, with a full-fledged boner. All my nerve endings were on full alert and I wanted—I didn't know exactly what, just that it would probably earn me a trip downtown in the back of Bella's dad's patrol car; that, or a trip into the woods. I might be an innocent in terms of experience, but I'd heard plenty in the locker-room about what other guys liked to do with that part of the female anatomy.

As soon as she was stabilized, my hands were back at my side. My face was burning hot with my accidental presumption. Bella's face was just as red, so I knew she knew what I'd done.

"Bella, I…" I didn't know how to apologize, just that I needed to.

"Thanks for keeping me from falling," she interrupted. Then, "Crap," she exclaimed, starting to run for the kitchen again. I stayed where I was, trying to make myself calm down. My mom had raised me better than that, even if it had been an accident. Thinking about her, and how I'd hate to have to explain something like this helped take care of my problem. I could hear Bella banging around in the kitchen, muttering to herself, so I guessed whatever she'd been cooking was a lost cause. When I joined her, she was scraping out a pan into the trash and grumbling.

"I'm sorry for making breakfast burn, too," I offered.

"It's not your fault," Bella replied. "I should have taken the pan off the stove before I went to answer the door. And I've been a klutz for a long time, so that's not on you, either. Not the first time you've saved me."

"Our own little tradition, huh?" I tried my best to lighten the mood. Trying to apologize any further would only embarrass us both even more, and Bella didn't seem to want it anyway. But when I realized exactly how that sounded, it was just one more thing that hadn't turned out right. I groaned. "Can I just have a complete do-over of this entire morning?"

Bella laughed, just a little. "Only if I can get one, too. Well, let's see what we can do. Hi, Embry. How are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess. You?"

"I'm alright. But what did 'I guess' mean?"

I really didn't want to let it mess up our day, and said so, but Bella was persistent. Finally, I confessed, "I guess all that crap with Jake and Quil is still bothering me. Can't figure it out."

Bella crossed to where I slouched in one of the kitchen table chairs and gave my shoulder a light squeeze. "Sometimes having answers is overrated. I could try and track Edward down and demand to know why he broke up with me the way he did, why he said those things, but even if I got that…I still don't think I'd understand. I could never get his mindset or comprehend why he would be that cruel, so whatever he might say really wouldn't mean anything. That's not the same as your situation here, I know but…they are your friends, Embry. They always have been, and I'm sure they always will be. Before long, you'll all sit down and hash out whatever this was all about. But if they aren't ready to do that, I'd hate to see you get hurt. Jake's got a really hard head, you know."

"Yeah," I admitted. "I know. They know I want to talk, they've got my number, and they know exactly where I live. I'm not going to keep coming around like a pathetic puppy to get kicked again." With a deep breath, I pushed the topic away. "Okay, so what's the plan for today, other than breakfast and the movies?"

"I absolutely have to do the grocery store again, take some stuff to the dry cleaner, mail a package for Phil's birthday…"

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Bella POV

I took refuge in the act of cooking to try and pull myself back together, and to try and make sense of what had just happened—more to the point, how I felt about what had just happened. I'd already been a bit jittery about today, of spending it with Embry in the light of our conversation last night. Part of me liked how natural it had been, while the other part of me couldn't quite believe I'd said all that. The way Embry had played along helped affirm things Leah had said. But whether or not I'd have the nerve to follow through—or if I'd only chicken out—would remain to be seen. And then there was that other thing Embry had said, that I'd thought about more than once during the past twelve hours. But if I contemplated a surfboard Embry now, after the hallway, I'd only end up resembling a lobster.

So all things considered, my clumsiness back in the hallway was understandable. And it wasn't like Embry hadn't saved me from a tumble before. I knew he hadn't meant to grab my breast—the way his face had flamed up and he'd stammered and apology proved that. I'd been just as embarrassed as him, which was only to be expected. But what I hadn't expected was how it felt to have his hot hand on me there. Even through the layers of my shirt and bra, I'd still felt the heat. Even after his hands were back at his sides, the sizzle ran all the way through me. It far surpassed anything I had had ever experienced with Edward, which was another thing I had to figure out. Though, to be realistic, Edward would never have done something like that, intentionally or otherwise.

But first I had to somehow salvage the breakfast I'd promised to Embry. The pancake I'd been cooking in the pan was burnt and stuck. I grumbled about such a novice mistake, scraping out what I could into the trashcan and soaking the pan to take care of the rest of the mess. Then I got a new pan and got back to work.

There was another apology dance—over breakfast this time—and then another face-flamer from Embry. Was he just as jittery as me? Maybe so, or maybe not. But we did seem to have one thing in common: taking on guilt or responsibility that wasn't ours. I'd never had a lifelong friend as close to me as Jake and Quil were to Embry, but my tie to the Cullens had been intense if of short duration, so maybe I understood a little bit. I tried to offer my few pieces of advice, paying forward the help I'd received. And hearing Embry's words, I realized he had the right idea. If Jake didn't want to talk to either of us, then we wouldn't be able to make him. Trying to force the issue would only hurt us and not Jake. When he was ready, he knew how to find us.

The post office and bank were quick run in and run out errands, so Embry stayed in the car. At the Thriftway, he drove the cart while I grabbed what I needed. Having a tall friend came in handy for the stuff that was way up on the top shelves.

"Why don't they factor short people into the equation when they put stuff out?" I wondered.

"They do, actually. There's a whole science/art thing on product placement in grocery stores," Embry announced. "They put the high-profit stuff at eye-level so it gets the most attention. The stuff on the top and bottom shelves are there so you have to work more to see them, even if they're usually better deals."

"Well, interesting. Could you grab that box of croutons?"

"Sure."

I probably should have guessed that the rest of the morning would be just as strange as the first part had been. We ran into Tyler and Eric in the snack food aisle, and like usual they made a beeline my way.

"Bella!"

"Hi, Bella."

"Hey," they didn't seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm. "Oh, Embry, this is Eric and Tyler from school. Guys, this is Embry, from La Push."

"La Push, huh?"

I did a double-check, but I wasn't imagining it that my schoolmates weren't all that thrilled to see me with Embry. What was it with guys from Forks High? "Yeah. He grew up with my friend Jake—from the beach trip, remember? Jake's working on my truck, so Embry's giving me a ride to get some stuff done."

"Nice of you," Eric wasn't any friendlier than Tyler had been.

"That's what friends are for. Besides," Embry added, with the air of one sharing a secret, "she's feeding me. Bella's food…mmm. You ought to—wait, nope, I'm not sharing. It's all mine."

"Good thing for you that it was an exclusive offer," I countered. "I'm not a short order cook."

"Definitely not," Embry grinned. "Well, nice to meet you guys, but we better get a move on. More shopping to do still, and then it'll be lunch, right?"

I gave Embry a light poke in the arm. "Watch it. Don't upset the kitchen manager."

"Sorry."

"It's okay," I patted his arm and felt that same zing again. I still didn't know what to do or think about it, and this wasn't the time or place anyway. "Bye, guys."

"Sorry," I apologized once we were out of the aisle.

"And they're always like that?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We hang out in the same group at school, but we aren't exactly friends, you know? I certainly wouldn't have them save me from a fall or anything." Was I developing a split personality here? I'd only just finished deciding that now wasn't ideal for this, and yet here I was doing it anyway. I guess Embry hadn't expected it any more than me, because his face was flushed again.

"Good," he managed.

"That's your job, right?" Bold Bella replied.

Embry gulped. "I don't—I'm not like the other guys who always have a smooth answer ready. I don't know what—"

"I don't know, either," I admitted. "I think I'm having some kind of out-of-body experience today—I don't usually say things like that. But for the record, I'm not after smooth answers or one of those 'other guys'. If I did, the ones back there would be convenient; annoying, but convenient."

"Please don't."

"I won't."

"Good," Embry looked relieved. "And for the record, I'm definitely looking into that shared studies program. Now, what's next on the list?"

With a quick stop in the freezer aisle for some convenience foods, and a circuit of the produce section for fruits and vegetables, the shopping list was all marked off. But then came the ordeal of the checkout line. The clerk openly watched us the entire time, swiping my purchases over the scanner by touch. I was sure she'd be gossiping with her coworkers after we left—after all, it was sure to be big news when the police chief's daughter went grocery shopping with a good-looking native guy.

At my house, I put the groceries away while Embry fixed our lunch. "Mom always insists on doing that herself," he told me. "She hated it when I could never put things away where she wanted them to go."

"And of course, you never put things in the wrong places on purpose just so you wouldn't have to do that chore, right?"

"Of course not!" But he grinned while he said it.

In the living room, we both settled onto the couch, using the coffee table as our dining table.

"Okay, movie time. Here's…_The Mummy_." And with a click of the button on the remote controller, we were swept backto ancient Egypt.

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Embry POV

Bella seemed to enjoy the movie. Like I'd told her, it wasn't really scary, but she buried her face between my shoulder and the couch cushion a few times with the skeletal mummy character. It was a normal, understandable thing to do, for a friend, but my thoughts were anything but friendly. Ever since this morning…wanting a chance with Bella had been one thing, but now I _want_ wanted her. I'd looked at my share of skin mags over the years, but this? I hadn't been kidding when I told Bella that I wasn't sure how to do this.

Her head being practically right under mine meant that I was breathing in all the scents of her. Strawberry shampoo was the strongest, but there was vanilla and chocolate, too, like those Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches—all the best smells in the world, all wrapped up in one package. Her hand on my arm sent thoughts racing about what her fingers would feel like elsewhere. About the only good thing where our current arrangement was concerned was that with her head being buried, Bella couldn't see that I again had a _situation_. Only the thought that Chief Swan could come in at any time kept me from the embarrassing need to run to the bathroom.

"It was freaky how that mummy wanted Evie, wanted to kill her just to bring his dead love back to life," Bella commented while the credits rolled.

"Yeah, I guess so. But, there might be something to be said for a love that could last for thousands of years and through both of their deaths."

"But he wasn't really dead, though, right? He still existed and had to suck the life out of others to bring himself back."

"Okay, good point. Freaky and wrong. Still up for the second one?"

At Bella's nod, I got up to go and swap out the discs in the DVD player.

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Bella POV

Embry was right that the movies weren't really very scary—in fact, the second one started out pretty funny. I noted, but didn't dwell on, the psychic ability being displayed by Rachel Weiss' character, Evie, and how it was a mirror to Alice's gift. I also noted—and did dwell on—how Embry's body tensed up after I summoned my courage to reach over and take hold of his hand when the risen mummy kissed his reincarnated love.

My first thought—ruthlessly squashed—was to assume he didn't want me to do this, or past conversation to the contrary. But I wasn't going to assume anything where Embry was concerned; I was going to ask.

"Did that freak you out?" I whispered.

"Yeah," he admitted, "and so do you."

"Me?"

"Yeah," Embry's leg—on which our still-joined hands rested—twitched, as if he'd started to move only to change his mind.

"Why do I scare you?"

Embry paused the movie and turned his head to face me. "I'm a guy."

"I know. I wouldn't be doing this if you weren't," I jiggled our hands. His free one whipped over to press down and freeze my movement. It was then that I realized that my arm, which was underneath his, law along his leg very close to his inner thigh, and that his jeans were pretty tight.

_Oh, my gosh! He's got a—_"I'm sorry!"

"Don't move," Embry commanded, before he bolted from the room. Feet pounding up the stairs was followed by the slamming of a door. I sat frozen on the couch, trying to work all this out. My face pressed into my hands in total embarrassment—I hadn't meant to do this. Embry would probably hate me for causing this. I'd just wanted to…

"What knots have you gotten yourself tied into so far?" Embry's voice spoke behind me.

"I'm sorry," I repeated.

Rejoining me on the couch, Embry claimed my fingers again and lifted our hands so that the back of mine touched his cheek. "Don't you dare say you're sorry. There's no need, for one thing. I could say that it doesn't take much for this to happen to a guy, but that would only insult both of us."

"Okay."

"Bella…," he reached to tilt my chin up so that I met his eyes. "I know this…between us is really new, but…I like you, Bella, as more than a friend. And that it was you, your scent, your touch that affected me so much…well, I like that, too." Embry's cheeks were pinked up a bit, but surely less than mine were.

"I…" What, exactly, I wanted to say, I wasn't really sure of. "I thought you'd be upset with me," I confessed.

"Never," he vowed.

"What now?" I wanted to know.

"We can finish the movie if you want to. The rest of it…how about we take things one day at a time? Neither one of us wants to push this too far too fast, right?"

I nodded.

Embry restarted the movie and we watched it to the end. Our hands stayed connected, but lay on the couch between us—just in case.


	17. A Father's Thoughts

Reviewer "Guest": Glad you found #16 so cute—just what I hoped for.

Frekles: Thank you. Yes, Embry is a sweetie.

Congrats to Leesey85 for being review #250 for this story on FF.

AN: First part of this was inspired by last chapter's review from notashamedtobe. You asked, and now you get. First little bit of citrus.

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Embry POV

I escaped upstairs to the bathroom at a near-run. Bella's hand on my thigh, her scent in my head…I'd been pushed to the brink. But if I thought I'd found a refuge, I was mistaken. Even here, the echo of Bella's strawberry shampoo surrounded me. I fumbled with the button and zipper on my jeans, dropping them and my shorts to the floor as quickly as my rock-hard cock would allow. Mindful of Bella downstairs, I grabbed a washcloth off the shelf to muffle any sounds I'd make, while my other hand was already stroking up and down my length, spreading the moisture leaking from my tip. With the roller coaster ride my body had been on throughout the day but especially just now, it only took a few passes and a firm twist before I painted the wall of the shower/tub with my release, a low groan escaping my throat. My breathing was ragged and my heart pounding. Only the fact that my arms automatically landed on the edge of the tub kept me from doing a face-plant after my knees gave way. But almost immediately, I pulled it together, got myself cleaned up, and looked around for any cleaning supplies. After a quick scrub of the tub, I went back downstairs, putting a stop to Bella's over-thinking of the situation.

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I gave Bella's hand a little squeeze when Izzy appeared in the movie. She gave me a bit of a look when the character used the line I'd quoted last night.

"So my cooking is worth as much as a golden…" her voice trailed off and the blush I could see made me wonder why. But it only took me a moment of remembering how that golden object was referred to in the movie to understand: any word she might have chosen would only have evoked some really obvious innuendos considering today.

"Yeah, your food is worth a lot."

At the end of the movie, Bella got up and went back to the kitchen with all our dirty dishes from lunch and our snacks.

"Maybe I ought to head home," I said, not that I wanted to, but because I thought she might need some time to herself.

"Do you have to?"

Well, put it that way… "Nah, I guess not."

The sight of her starting dinner preparations made my stomach growl. Man, did my newly expanded stomach have to choose now to announce itself? But Bella just laughed it off and tossed me an apple, which I happily consumed. I was trying a bit of light teasing—stealing bits of food—when the sound of the door opening made us both turn.

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Narrator POV

Charlie loved being a small-town cop. More, he loved being the head cop in _this_ small town. He'd been born and raised here, grown up here—Forks was _his._ He liked knowing everyone, of having his finger on the pulse of things. But, he reflected as he dug into the platter of a hamburger and fries at the diner, there was a definite disadvantage to living in a town where everyone knew everything about everyone, andhad no compunction about sharing whatever they knew or suspected. Charlie was forever being stopped by 'concerned citizens' reporting ona neighbor's real or alleged misdeeds.

Today was something else, though. So far, no less than three people had stopped by his table at the diner to mention Bella's shopping companion and try to pump him for details. Charlie didn't give them any, only saying that the boy was a friend from La Push, helping his daughter out while her truck was out of commission. He knew Embry had become one of Bella's new good friends this summer, and that they'd spent time together, both with others and just them. Charlie liked what he knew about this boy, but that Cullen had had a squeaky-clean reputation, too, and look what he'd done.

He wondered if there was any truth in the gossip, or if they were just dreaming things up. He'd never seen or heard anything to suggest…more, but teenagers didn't always tell their parents everything, even if he and Bella were that close, which they weren't. Though neither of them was much for the emotional stuff, he'd have to ask Bella if anything was going on. Not that he was really a good one to talk about moving on past a bad breakup—he was still a bachelor more than a decade after Renee had left him. But if his daughter was proving to be braver than he himself had been, even in merely thinking about sticking her toes back in the pool with how badly her last relationship had ended...Charlie would do whatever he could to support her.

He just hoped that Bella wouldn't have to deal with any racism on top of the small town scrutiny of her choices. Charlie wasn't prejudiced—no good cop was. But some people in town weren't so enlightened. His three best friends growing up had all been members of the Quileute tribe. He wasn't going to try and dictate who Bella could date; he knew it wouldn't work. But given the way that pasty white Cullen had treated his baby girl, how the next guy treated Bella was far more important to Charlie than the color of the guy's skin.

If Charlie was worried about anything concerning this, it was that Bella might end up as the rope in a tug-of-war match. It wasn't that he objected to Embry Call being interested, but he was…concerned that Embry's friend Jake was, too. Charlie wasn't blind—Jake's lifelong crush on Bella wasn't a secret to him, although he was pretty sure that Bella didn't have any idea. Did Embry know about Jake? Did Jake have any idea about Embry? He vowed that his daughter wouldn't be pulled anywhere by anyone. Charlie also decided that he needed to see things for himself before saying anything.

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"Hey, Bells, I'm home. Hi, Embry," Charlie poked his head into the kitchen.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hello, sir."

"Sir?"

"Dinner will be ready in twenty, Dad. Is it okay if Embry stays?" Bella interrupted.

"Fine by me. What does your mom say?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine with her, but I thought I'd get your okay before I asked her," Embry replied. Charlie watched and listened as Embry called his mom. Then Charlie went to hang up his gun belt in the hall before going up to his room to change out of his uniform. Back downstairs, he thought about turning on the TV to check for a game, but remembered his decision to do some observations and moved to stand in the kitchen doorway instead. Within a few minutes, all his cop and father instincts were going off. Something was definitely different between the two teenagers now. Sidelong glances, blushes, and the way Embry moved to reach for anything high that Bella needed…

The first part of dinner was quiet—the food getting its due attention. After a while, though, Charlie figured that he ought to do his parental duty.

"Have fun at the Thriftway?"

"Embry saved me from Tyler and Eric, so he's my hero now," Bella offered. Charlie's eyes narrowed at the reminder of the boy who'd nearly hit Bella with his van early this year. He didn't miss the look that she exchanged with Embry.

"They just got a little long-winded, and we had frozen stuff in the cart," Embry shrugged it off.

"Catch some baseball?" Charlie suggested when their plates were empty.

Embry checked the clock. "Maybe for a bit. I'll have to head home in a while."

"The dishes won't take me long," Bella said. Charlie knew his daughter and how she felt about letting dirty dishes sit around—and what she thought about sports, so he didn't push it; besides, he wanted to talk to Embry right now anyway.

"Sir?" he asked again, once they were settled in front of the TV.

"Huh?"

"Any reason you're going all polite and formal now?" Charlie watched the boy—young man—take a deep breath.

"Since I decided to ask for permission to date your daughter."

That revelation still stopped Charlie in his mental tracks even with all the thinking he'd done today. "You do, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I'm assuming Bella is fine with this?"

"She is," Embry confirmed.

"Been thinking about this for long?"

"A little while, I guess. Maybe from day one—I don't know. I mean, she could pick anyone in the world—why would she want a fatherless bastard of a rez kid?"

"Wait just a minute here," Charlie interrupted. "Is that really how you see yourself?"

Embry shook his head. "No. I know Mom loves me, and that my dad not sticking around is on him and not me. But I'm not stupid—I know that a lot of people will see things that way."

"Well, I don't. But if you think Bella's that shallow…well, don't let the door hit your butt on the way out."

Embry's eyes flashed. "I'd never think that about her. Bella always sees the best in everyone."

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, she does. Okay. You want my blessing, you got it." He grinned underneath his mustache when Embry heaved a sigh of relief. Hating to burst his bubble, but doing it all the same, the cop continued, "Just one thing…"

"Yeah?"

"This isn't a competition with Jake, is it?"

Dark eyes registered comprehension. "No, it's not," he promised. "Like I said, I've been thinking about this for a while; just had to get up the nerve to actually do something about it."

"Okay. You just make sure you take good care of my girl."

"I will."

The matter suitably addressed, both males turned their attention to the game on the screen. Soon, Bella joined them, settling next to Embry on the couch.

"Who's winning?" she asked.

"Well, not the Mariners, put it that way," Embry laughed.

"Bummer."

"Ha ha," Charlie grumbled.

At the end of the inning, Embry checked his watch, sighed, and stood up. "Hate to, but I've got to head home now."

"Nice having you over," Charlie told him. Then, "Are you going to walk him out, Bells?"

"What?"

"Nice thing to do," his eyes twinkled.

Enlightenment dawned. Bella's eyes widened, her mouth opened, and her face turned crimson. "Um, yeah."

Embry extended his hand to help her up, and kept hold of it as they walked toward the door.

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Bella POV

The temperature in the house must have risen several degrees from the heat my face was giving off. Embry…in front of my dad. My dad…

Once I'd flipped on the porch light and we'd stepped out of the house, I looked up at Embry, down at our hands, and then back up.

"I asked him if it was okay," Embry said, correctly interpreting my head movements. "Right thing to do and all."

"Bet he liked that. Edward didn't do that—I just sort of announced it one day."

Bright white teeth flashed in his tanned face when Embry grinned. "Well, I won't deny that I may have earned a few points there."

"So he…" I trailed off.

"Gave the green light. But, I don't want to try his patience—something tells me he's probably peeking through the window blinds."

"Probably," I agreed.

"But, then again, what's life without a few risks?" In a quick move, Embry stepped closer, bent, and brushed a light kiss to my cheek. By the time I recovered my wits, he was getting into his mom's car. As he drove away, my hand came up to try, somehow, to keep the feel of the kiss on my skin.

"Night, Dad," I called as I dashed up the stairs. I'd blushed enough for one day and would gladly put off any more embarrassing conversations until tomorrow. The reckoning was only delayed, though, as Charlie caught me on the way to the bathroom.

"He's a good guy, Bella," my dad squeezed my arm lightly. "Have fun."

"Th-thanks. I'll try."

I had just curled up in bed when my phone rang.

"Hi, Embry," I greeted.

"Hey. Did your dad say much after I left?"

"Not really. Just that he thinks you're a good guy. What about your mom?"

"I almost had to give her the play-by-play," he admitted. "You're the first girl so…"

"Makes sense, I guess. I'll have to talk to my mom pretty soon, too."

"What do you think she'll say?"

"She'll probably gush and talk my ear off."

"Moms."

"Moms," I agreed.

"So…you want to do something tomorrow?"

This was new for me. With Edward, our activities usually began with him saying what we were going to do, or else starting the whole adventure and _then_ telling me about it.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?"

"Well…" And that was the question. Both Forks and La Push were pretty small, so the list of options was limited. "Think your dad would let me take you to Port Angeles?"

"I don't know. You could ask."

Embry obviously considered it. "Maybe not for the first date. Take you out for a burger?"

"Okay."

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Alright."

"Good night, Bella. Sweet dreams."

"Night, Embry. You, too."

As it turned out, my dreams were spicy rather than sweet. That line from the movie that Embry had used last night, and that I'd seen and heard in the movie today, kept running through my mind, brought more into reality by what had gone on today. Thinking about him as a surf board and how he'd reacted to me touching him…I tossed and turned a long time before I fell asleep.

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Embry POV

I'd wished Bella sweet dreams—I'd have done well to do the same for myself. Sleep was a long time coming, and when it did…

_Fingertips lightly trailed up my arm and down my chest. My stomach muscles contracted as her touch sent pulses of lightning to every last nerve ending. And then…those fingers kept going. I was rock-hard instantly, silently begging her not to stop. She didn't, gently stroking me. Caress after caress worked me up more and more._

_B-b-Bella! Her name tore out of my throat as my length jerked within her grasp._

My eyes snapped open. It had all been a dream. A second later, though, I realized that _one_ thing hadn't been a dream. With a mental growl, I rolled out of bed and changed my shorts before I stripped off the sheets from the mattress. I thought about going to the linen closet for a new set, but decided against it—the door squeaked when you opened it, and I didn't want my mom to come and find out why I needed new sheets in the middle of the night.

Was this what having a girlfriend meant? As I tried to go back to sleep, I decided that if it was, then I'd just get really good at doing my laundry.

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Sam POV

If I didn't know that it really wasn't his fault, I'd be sorely tempted to be angry with Jacob. He was still too out of control to be able to phase back to human. I'd only allowed myself a few hours at home to sleep, and then to scrounge a cold breakfast while my wife continued to sleep. Paul and Jared traded off doing the same, while I took our newest recruits out to show them more of the ropes. I hoped that having Quil around would help Jake, but it really didn't. The ease with which Quil was adapting to his new circumstances grated on Jake, and I finally told Quil to go back home so that I could focus on helping his friend.

_Why did this happen? Why did my life have to get screwed up like this?_

_I wish I knew, Jake, for all of us. But all we can do now is try to make the best of it._

_What kind of crap answer is that? __**You**__ might be okay with being a monster now, but I'm not._

I let a little of my irritation come through and showed him how it had been for me. He howled in fear and anger when he saw how long it had taken me to change back that first time, and started running. We pounded through the forest, and I hoped that this time he might finally run it all off.

_It won't be like that for you,_ I promised. _I didn't have anyone to help me, but all of us are here to help you. You'll get this. It's just that it's so strong in you. You get it from the Ateara line as well as the Black._

_So I got screwed over by both sides of my family?_

_Pretty much._

_What if Bella can't accept this?_

_She will. If she could accept…him, then she can accept you. Emily and Kim can help on that front. It'll be a little different for her, since she won't have the background of tribal legends, but the elders can work on that._

_Um…Sam?_

_Yeah?_

_They might not have to help that much. I think I kind of did some of that already._ His thoughts tracked back to a beach excursion not long after Bella had moved back, and how he'd told her the story of the wolves and the Cold Ones, hoping to scare her.

_Jake,_ I groaned. Somehow I'd managed to nearly forget Jake's announcement of that slip, made right after he'd phased. And even if it did end up helping in the long run, I still wasn't any happier about it. Crush on her or not, Jake should have known better than to share the stories with any outsider.

_I'm sorry! I didn't know the story was real—give me a break here. And I definitely didn't know she was **dating a vampire!**_ He spat out the last of that.

_Alright, I get it. And you did actually mention this that first night. You really shouldn't have done it, but who knows, maybe it'll help things when you do start to explain it all._

_Maybe_.

_Well, it won't happen if you're still a wolf. Come on._ I led him back toward my house. As I'd hoped, Emily had been cooking up a storm and the scents of fresh bread, grilled meat, and seasoned vegetables saturated the air even outside our home.

_Man, amazing!_ Jake was practically salivating.

_Yeah, Em's a great cook. But if you want any of it, you're going to have to be human. She doesn't do doggie bags._ Shifting back, I pulled on my shorts and held up a spare pair. "Take some deep breaths and think of something that makes you calm and happy."

When he finally managed it, I was tempted to do a dance for joy. "Come on. Time to meet everyone."

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AN: Sorry this took a little longer than I was expecting. I got a whole bunch of Jake written, and then Embry insisted on some more screen time, and Charlie commandeered a lot as well. Plus, I realized that this stuff had to come before the Jake stuff that I wrote (which will appear soon). At least you've at least gotten a very long chapter out of it. Hope you enjoyed this (and that you'll tell me about it).


	18. Good friends, Good advice

Bella POV

I woke up in the morning all hot and sweaty. My dreams had been anything but restful. In the light of day, they were actually a bit embarrassing. But, if I was honest with myself, I didn't know if I felt that way because of what I'd dreamed or from disappointment that it had only been a dream. I was still getting to know Embry, so how could I be wishing that my tangled sheets had a different cause? Yet, that was what part of me _was_ doing. Was it wrong? No, I decided that it wasn't. I was a normal—well, relatively so—girl, and there wasn't anything wrong with being attracted to a guy who I was interested in and who was interested in me in return. I thought back to yesterday, when Embry had refused to let me obsess about my effect on him. If it didn't bother him, then I shouldn't let it bother me.

The ringing of the doorbell had me scrambling out of bed. As I dashed downstairs, I silently begged that it wouldn't be Embry. We hadn't discussed a specific time to meet today, and if I had to face him right now, I would literally ignite from my blushing. When I opened the door and saw Jessica and Angela, my thought was '_Saved'_—at least until I saw their grins. As enlightenment dawned about the reason for their early-morning visit, my automatic smile at seeing them tightened up. They were obviously here for a gossip session and I had to be the main feature.

"Morning, Bella," they chorused.

I mumbled something inarticulate as I stepped back to let them come inside.

"We can take care of breakfast if you still need to get around," Angela offered.

I nodded and went back upstairs. I took longer than normal to get ready, putting off the inquisition as long as possible. I had no idea what questions they would ask or what I would say. Neither did I know what Embry might want said or not. We hadn't exactly talked through it all, or defined exactly what we were now.

"Well, Bella," I addressed my reflection in the mirror, "you won't figure it all out just standing here. Get a move on."

Having eaten while I showered and dressed, my friends generously let me consume my own breakfast before they started on their questions.

"So, Bella, did you have fun shopping yesterday?"

"It had to get done."

"Embry?"

"I still haven't heard back from Jake about my truck, so Embry helped me get stuff done around town yesterday."

"You know…Eric called me trying to find out about your chauffeur."

"Sorry, Angela. He and Tyler were there, too, and as annoying as ever," I groused.

"And did Embry help you out?"

"Yeah, he got me away from them, so we could get the shopping done. Then we watched some movies and had dinner here with my dad."

"And…?"

"And we're going out for burgers today," I admitted.

"Ooooo!"

"A date!"

"I guess so."

"And when did all this happen? Details, Bella!"

_It's nothing to be ashamed of—and they're your friends_, I reminded myself, and started talking. The bike ride home and how we'd cooked and played games a few days ago; then how Leah had given me stuff to think about the next day, and the text exchange with Embry that night—both my friends squealed loudly, then burst out laughing at the surfboard line before getting contemplative expressions on their faces. They were just as interested in the full details of yesterday's shopping and movies.

"Has he made any moves?" Jessica eagerly inquired.

"Moves?"

"You know, moves on you?"

"Well, he kissed my cheek when he left last night." My hand automatically moved up to cover the spot.

"That's it?" she was clearly disappointed.

Somehow I found myself talking about my slip in the hall yesterday morning and how—where—he'd caught me.

"And then what happened?" Angela was just as interested—which surprised me a little in a minister's daughter.

"I ran back to the kitchen—breakfast was burning—and I guess he stayed in the hall for a few minutes."

"Ah, a not-so-little problem," was Jessica's sage announcement.

My fire-engine face was a dead giveaway that there was a lot more still unsaid—though it didn't stay that way for long.

"Isn't it awesome to know that you've got that kind of power just being a woman?" asked Jessica.

"I didn't do anything on purpose!" I exclaimed.

"I know," she assured me. "But it's still true. I'm not saying that Embry's just going to roll over or follow you around like a puppy, but…there's nothing wrong with knowing what you have inside you."

"I just don't want to push too hard. I wonder…maybe I did that with Edward and—"

"Stop right there," Jessica ordered. "You didn't do anything of the sort. You certainly didn't go after him, the way all the other girls, including me did. You didn't go after any of the guys. If he had issues, he should have said something, and not made you think it was about you. Now, did Embry do or say anything to show that he was upset with what happened?"

I shook my head, "No. Nothing."

"Then don't worry about it."

"I wasn't going to, really I wasn't. I guess…Edward really did a number on my confidence, I think. Before him, I didn't second guess myself or others. I hate that I'm doing that now, even if it's only for a second."

Angela reached over and squeezed my hand. "If that's the kind of person he really was, then he didn't deserve you, Bella. You just keep right on telling yourself that as often as you need to. And let Embry show you that, too."

"What about the rest of the day?" Jessica wanted to know.

"He actually asked your dad for permission to date you? That's so sweet!" Angela sighed after I'd covered the rest of yesterday.

"Anything else besides today's lunch-date?" Jessica wanted to know.

"Not yet. Port Angeles, probably, at some point."

"La Push?"

"I guess. But with Jake and Quil being all weird this week…I don't know."

"Competition?"

"I don't see how—but I just don't know how guys think. Jake never said anything, but the way he and Quil argued about the truck—and maybe me—that last day we all hung out… He never said anything, and I just don't see him like… He's like a best friend or an almost-relative or something" my hands lifted, lowered, and moved back and forth in uncertain gestures.

"But you do see Embry like that, right?"

"Yeah. I don't know when it started, or why it's him, but I do."

"Then you can't spoil this wondering how Jake will react," Jessica informed me. "If he gets upset, then that's his business. It's no fault of yours that Embry asked you first. If Jake really was interested in you 'that way', then he should have said something."

"And don't let that stop you from spending time on Embry's ground, either," Angela added. "I'm sure there are things he'd like for the two of you to do there. It's not like you'd be dancing around Jake's house rubbing his face in it."

"I just don't want things to be awkward," I sighed. "They've been friends almost all their lives."

"It probably _will_ be, at least a little and for a little while, until they work out how this will change their friendship," she told me frankly. "But let Embry handle that. And…some of what you'll both have to deal with will be because of who you are, and some of it will be because of _what_ you are."

At my look of confusion, Angela continued, "Some people there—and here—probably won't appreciate a mixed relationship."

"What?" exploded out of my mouth.

"It's a sad fact of life that racism and prejudice are still alive and well even in the 21st century. And small towns like Forks and La Push can be the worst."

"Was that why Eric and Tyler were so rude in the store?" I wondered.

"I don't think they'd need an excuse to be rude to a new guy who's with you," mused Jessica, "but it could have been part of it."

"I didn't even think about any of this," I groaned.

"And don't start now," Angela insisted. "You are the most accepting and color-blind person I know, Bella. Don't let anyone dictate your future to you," Angela spoke like someone with first-hand experience, so I asked her about it.

"Yeah, I do know what it's like. I'm mixed myself, so I've gotten it from time to time—not with the dating aspect of it, but the other stuff isn't all that different."

I felt terrible that I'd never gotten close enough to Angela before now for the heritage issue to have come up. She did have an exotic look, but nothing that screamed any one ethnicity in particular. A glance showed that Jessica seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"I'm half-white and half-Quinault," Angela told us. "My mom's family was progressive enough back in the day that they wanted her to get a good education, and she met my dad at school. Then he decided to take a church in the region near where she'd grown up—making a contribution. They had to deal with a lot of talk and criticism until most people eventually got used to them. It's not nearly as bad for me as it was for them, but every so often…"

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks, but this isn't your doing, either. Embry's a great guy, so focus on that and not what anyone else might be saying."

The serious drift of our conversation was broken when Jessica cut in with, "Just do it like you did when you were dating Edward Cullen—only without forgetting about the rest of the world."

"Definitely not," I promised.

I cocked my head, trying to figure out if I was hearing something. I'd only just realized it was the ringtone on my cell phone when it stopped. Before I could get up to go and grab it, the phone in the kitchen starting ringing.

"Hello?"

"Bella?"

"Embry. Hi. Did you just try to call my cell?"

"Yeah. Didn't leave a message—figured you might not have it on you."

"It's upstairs, and I'm down in the kitchen with Ange and Jess."

"Getting the third-degree, huh?"

"Pretty much. You?"

"Mom got to me last night. I mean, your dad knew, so…"

"Absolutely. So do we have a plan for today?"

"I've got to clean my room and do laundry this morning, so how about I pick you up around noon? We can talk then about doing anything else today."

"That sounds good. I promise I won't keep you waiting."

"I promise I won't mind if you do." In fact, he almost seemed to want it.

I laughed. "We'll see. I better let you go so we can both get things done this morning."

"Okay…Bye, Bella."

"Bye."

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I wasn't surprised when both my friends insisted on helping me get ready for my first official date with Embry. It was strange how enjoyable this was—a huge difference from the days when Alice had used me as her life-size Barbie doll. Jessica had good fashion sense, too, plus the willingness to listen to what I did and didn't want—like when I talked her out of a skirt on the grounds that Embry only had his bike today, and I had no interest in pulling a celebrity move and flashing an audience while dismounting.

Moving on to the date itself, Jessica began, "Now, Bella, you can—"

"—just be yourself," Angela interrupted. "That's who Embry likes. Besides, flirting is meant to catch a guy's attention, and you've already done that."

"Oh, fine," huffed Jess, though she was smiling as she did so. "Okay, I think that does it. Embry isn't going to know what hit him."

Angela urged, "Take a look."

I looked into my mirror and inhaled a shaky breath. I looked…great. Even better, I looked like myself—another huge improvement over the Alice-makeovers I'd suffered through, when I'd been unrecognizable at the end of them.

"Wow," I breathed.

"Have fun today, Bella," Ange gave me a hug and turned to Jessica. "Jess, come on. We've got to go. Embry's going to be here before long, and I think Bella might want a little time to herself first."

Jess pouted a little, but went along. They let themselves out while I remained in front of my mirror.

I couldn't help thinking back to all the conversations of the morning—well, mostly it was what Angela had said about how people might react to me and Embry being a couple—and that was another thing we'd have to hash out: the official terminology of what we were now. I agreed with what Angela had said about me not looking at the outsides of people—and I certainly hadn't let anyone's disapproval, not my dad's or Billy's or anyone else, keep me from being with Edward, so there was no reason to start now.

But, had Embry thought about this, either? Wouldn't people expect him to want to date—to eventually marry—a native girl? Carry on his heritage? I sat down in front of my computer and googled the enrollment numbers for Washington's native tribes. It was a little surprising to see that Embry's Makah tribe was over three times the size of the Quileute tribe. So maybe it wouldn't be as big of a deal as I thought. Besides, with the tribes being so small, they almost _had_ to look for partners from outside, or risk inbreeding or something like that.

Feeling a little better about it, I went downstairs and fussed around while I waited for…my boyfriend to arrive. Butterflies were swarming madly in my stomach. I wondered why I was nervous now, when I'd never really been that way with Edward. Was it that I wasn't as sure about Embry as I'd been with Edward? Or did I feel like Embry mattered more to me already than Edward ever had, and I didn't want to lose that?

I jumped when the knock on the door caught me completely by surprise.

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AN: I actually have part of the date written out, but not typed. But since I did promise several readers an update this weekend, and we're at a good length now, I'll stop here, and use that other stuff to start the next chapter with.


	19. Question and Answer

Embry POV

I bit my lip nervously while I waited for the door to open. I hadn't gotten the best night of sleep, what with my dreams and the anticipation of today. However simple the plans for today might be, I was still taking a girl out on a first date—I really didn't want to screw this up, for either myself or for Bella. I thought—and then I couldn't think at all when Bella opened her front door. I couldn't speak either, except to whisper "Wow" under my breath. How could I have gotten so lucky that such an amazing girl would be interested in gawky, brainy me, and then agree to go out with me?

Bella smiled when she saw me and I felt a broad grin appear on my face in answer. "You look great, I told her in utter sincerity.

She blushed—predictably—and her head bobbled like she wanted to duck it. But then she looked up at me and quietly said, "Thanks. Angela and Jessica helped."

"They did a nice job, but they had good material to work with." The more I practiced this light banter, the easier it seemed to get.

Bella blushed again, but said nothing. She stepped back and opened the door wider. "Do you want to come in?"

"That's up to you. We can head to Sully's now, if you want, or hang here if you're not ready to eat yet." My stomach offered its opinion on those options by growling loudly.

"Going now is fine with me—and with you, clearly," Bella laughed. I had to join in. "Just let me grab my stuff," she told me.

"Wait," I held out the bag I was carrying.

"What's this?"

"Some jam that my mom made. She thought you'd like it."

"You're bringing me homemade jam?" Bella pressed a hand to her mouth, but couldn't _not_ laugh. "Sweet. And certainly more unique than flowers."

I hadn't meant it like that, but I decided that she didn't seem to mind. "It's a heritage thing. In the old days, a guy would bring gifts to a girl he liked—to her family, really—to show he'd be able to take care of her. Not that I'm trying to do that yet—but maybe—I don't know. Gah. Shutting up now." Why on earth did my verbal filter keep abandoning me when I was around her?

"Well, I'm sure _I'll_ enjoy it. Maybe I'll share it with my dad, and maybe I won't," Bella accepted the jar and slipped back into the house. She came back out carrying her jacket and my mom's helmet. After locking the door and tucking keys and phone into her pockets, Bella turned back to me. "All ready to go."

Grateful that my verbal flood wasn't being held against me, I grinned and claimed her hand like I had yesterday, to which action Bella just smiled. Straddling my bike, I popped the kickstand and extended my hand to help her climb on. Her body moved immediately to press against my back and her arms locked around me. This second time together on my bike was even better than the first.

It really made me want to hate our weather. The great run of days couldn't last forever, and the rain was bound to come back. Mom didn't like me riding in heavy rain—and I was pretty sure Bella's dad would feel the same way—so I'd be stuck with begging for Mom's car or we'd be using Bella's truck a lot once it got fixed. So I was going to enjoy every last moment of every ride I could take with Bella. Sooner than I wanted, I pulled my motorcycle into the parking lot at Sully's Burgers, on the north end of 101 Highway that ran through Forks.

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Bella POV

Just like the grocery store yesterday, people definitely noticed us, so I suggested to Embry that we get our food to go. Takeout bags and drinks in hand, we jaywalked across the street and up a couple blocks to Tilicum Park for a picnic lunch.

"So what does your mom think?" I asked once we'd both made inroads into our burgers and fries.

Embry polished off his first burger before he answered, "She's happy. Mom really liked you that day we stopped by. I'm under orders to bring you back again sometime so that she can get to know you better."

"Really?"

He laughed. "Yeah, Bella." A pause. "Is it really surprising that my mom would like to be better acquainted with you? I mean, if you might…one day…maybe want to be my girlfriend…"

"Is that what you want?"

"I know this is still new, and we're still figuring it out, but yeah, I do want that."

"I think I'll want that, too," I admitted, "but…I jumped in the last time and really got burned. I don't think you'd ever act like Edward did," I rushed to add, "but it's still a little scary, even though I trust you."

Embry reached over from his spot next to me. "I get it. And I don't mean to pressure you with what I said. Just wanted it out there. I can wait however long you need. Just let me know, okay?" He then redirected the conversation by asking, "What do you want to do after lunch?"

"It's nice out today, so we could just hang out here for a while. My house is fine, but the same walls all the time…"

"Sure," Embry got a wicked look on his face. "Want to play?"

"Play?"

"We've got swings, a merry-go-round, slides…"

With my coordination issues, I'd always been more likely to take a book along on the occasions when Renee took me to a park or playground. But Embry's enthusiasm was contagious and I threw caution to the wind and agreed. If worse came to worse—which it probably wouldn't with Embry around—the hospital wasn't that far away.

Embry made me laugh with his antics on the slides, going head first on his back and stomach and then feet first the same way, finishing by running up and down the slides. We both cracked up when we overheard a mom telling her kids not to get any ideas about trying the same things.

We headed for the swings next. Embry won our swinging height contest—but he did have much longer legs than I did. I was confused when Embry got off his swing, but then figured out what he was doing when he grabbed the chains of my swing and pulled back. I hadn't been pushed on the swings since I was a kid, but realized it was kind of fun. He made me scream when he pulled me back really far, shot me forward, and then ran underneath me before I started the backward swing. Embry ran back around and repeated the stunt a few more times. I begged for mercy and he brought me to a stop.

"You want a turn?"

"Are you kidding me? I'd either trip on the sand, or get bonked by you, so no thanks. I don't have any desire to add to the hospital staff's 'You'll never believe how Bella Swan got hurt this time' list."

"Merry-go-round, then?" Embry took hold of my hand and we walked over. I climbed on and sat down in the middle while Embry grabbed the sidebar and start running. He got the merry-go-round spinning pretty fast and then jumped on, sliding near me.

"Having fun?" he called out.

"Yeah. This was a good idea."

Embry jumped off when the merry-go-round slowed down. As he started to get us going again, I requested a slower speed. "Lay down," he suggested. "You won't get as dizzy that way." He was right. The spinning wasn't nearly as bad when it was the sky circling around.

The sky had clouded up over the past hour and I felt a drop of rain land on my face. Embry ran back across the road for his motorcycle and then came to pick me up. We hadn't made it very far down the main drag of Forks before the clouds started to spit rain. I knew we'd never make it back to my house before it started to pour, but…I shifted one hand to poke into Embry's side to get his attention. Then I let go long enough to point to the left. His head bobbed in acknowledgement and he swung the bike over to park in front of the small Forks Memorial Library. Coming from a big city like I had, the tiny Forks branch of the Clallam County Library System had been a big shock and disappointment. I'd gotten a library card anyway, but hadn't used it much. Still, it was a place to keep dry now and maybe we'd find something to do for a while. Despite the speed at which Embry moved us, we both got pretty wet between the curb and the door.

The library was pretty quiet and we didn't see many people as we wandered the shelves looking for books. Once we'd each found something, Embry tugged me in the direction of the teen corner.

"We're teenagers," Embry grinned and dropped down onto a bright red beanbag. As he still had hold of my hand, I naturally fell down with him. I could have been upset about it, but he caught me, and…it was Embry.

I'd found a version of _Pride and Prejudice_ in Mr. Darcy's point of view, but I wasn't able to focus much because Embry kept whispering jokes from his book into my ear. Sharing a beanbag meant that we were right next to each other—and I liked it. Embry's body heat was drying me out and warming me up. And his breath tickling the side of my face…I abandoned my book in favor of just closing my eyes and enjoying this.

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Embry POV

It was maybe the most incredible kind of torture to have Bella curled up next to me, her head on my shoulder and her scent filling my head. Call me a pussy if you want, but there was nowhere else I'd rather be right now, even if it might give my body ideas. Bella's even breathing, and how she'd laid her book down, made me think she'd fallen asleep. Tilting my head down to rest against the top of hers, I didn't even notice when I drifted off, too. Naptime didn't last long before my foot got nudged.

"One patron to a beanbag, please," the librarian murmured.

"Sorry," I whispered back, even though I wasn't sorry at all. "Hey, is it still raining?"

"Not right now."

"Thanks." I turned to Bella and gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Let's take advantage of the break in the rain and get back to your house."

She shifted as she woke and I found myself with a near-repeat of yesterday. With some creative book-holding, I managed to cover it up as we walked to the desk and got our books checked out and bagged up. At my bike, I used the front of my t-shirt to get the worst of the water off the seat before we climbed on.

Back at the house, Bella dug out a CD and started it playing in a portable player that she brought down from her bedroom. We settled near each other on the couch and started talking.

"I know your dad is okay with this, but what about your mom?" I asked.

I almost swear I could hear Bella gulp. "I haven't told her yet. I _will_; I just didn't have time this morning."

"Do you think she'll be fine with this?"

"With what? Me trying a new relationship? With it being you? With you being native?"

"All of it, I guess." I did wonder what Bella's mom would think of me. I'd never met her and didn't know much about her, either. All Jake had said when she'd been here earlier this summer was that Renee had met Charlie Swan when they were both young, they'd married quick, had Bella quick, and divorced almost as quickly. She'd taken Bella and moved away, and Bella had only visited Forks for a few weeks each summer while growing up.

"Yes, yes, and yes," Bella answered decisively. "Granted, she'll have a ton of questions, but she'll like you. What about your mom? I know you said she liked _me_, but what about me being white?"

"She doesn't care. All she wants is for me to be happy." Bella didn't say anything. I thought about what she'd just been saying, and winced. "Is us being different races an issue?"

"No! Not to me. Jess and Ange both agreed that it shouldn't be a problem for us if we don't want it to be. What anyone else thinks isn't important. Renee will think I'm being wonderfully modern. Charlie's been best friends with Billy and Harry since they were kids. "

"It's not an issue for me. What got you thinking about it?" I listened to Bella's explanation and considered it thoughtfully. I agreed with her—to a point—about the guys from the store, but I somehow thought they'd have acted the same way to any guy. "I'd say I'm sorry they lost out, but…I'm not. Besides, they had plenty of chances before I ever met you."

"And I shot them down every time—I never gave them any sign that I wanted them to ask me to those dance or to study or anything."

"So Jessica and Angela approve of me liking you?"

Bella laughed. "They were here practically at the crack of dawn today wanting details. I think it's safe to say that they approve."

I watched Bella's face as she obviously considered something. Finally, she asked, "And your friends?"

I sighed. That question had crossed my mind a few times since Charlie Swan's query last night about whether this was a competition. "If they—or I guess Jake mainly—ever pop up and talk to me again, then we'll see. But, here's the thing: we made have been best friends all our lives, but I don't make my choices based on what will make Jake or Quil happy. This is for me. Maybe it's selfish, but I don't really care." I exhaled, "I'm sorry, that sounds mean, doesn't it?" Then I waited for Bella's response.

She thought for a while before saying, "Maybe, at least a little bit, but that doesn't mean that it actually _is_ mean. Now, if Jake had told you he liked me and was going to ask me, and you snuck around to meet him, that would be wrong. Or if you both said something to me and I played you off each other or snuck around with each of you…but we aren't doing that."

"Thank goodness. I know I said I was going to wait for Jake to make the first move, but I might try to call him again. Maybe I'll have better luck this time."

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Bella POV

A companionable silence settled in the room and we just sat listening to the music. Embry had to feel me jump when my phone rang with Leah's ringtone.

"Hi, Leah," I gasped while willing my heart rate to slow down.

"Hey, Bella. How's it going?"

"Good."

"Yeah, I bet."

"Huh?"

Leah laughed. "I was thinking of stopping by for a final visit, but you might have other plans for today."

"Um…"

"Bella, if you were trying to keep it under wraps, then you should have had Embry park his bike somewhere else."

"I'm not trying to hide anything." And I wasn't. Embry and I had been all over Forks for the past two days, and plenty of people had seen us. Besides that, his bike had been over here quite a bit over the summer.

"So he made a move, huh?"

"Yeah."

"You happy?"

"Yeah."

"Is that all you're going to say?" Leah huffed.

"Yeah," I grinned. I mouthed 'Leah' to Embry when he gave me a questioning look.

"You want girl time?" he whispered in my ear.

I wasn't sure. I hated to give up a final time of seeing Leah before she left for college, but I equally—if not more—didn't want to give up time with Embry.

"It's okay. I'll still be here after she leaves for school."

"But—"

"It's fine, really," Embry tilted his head to rest it against the top of mine. "You girls gossip or whatever, and I'll try to catch Jake. We can call or text tonight, okay?"

"Sure." Realizing I still had Leah on the phone, I asked her, "Still want to stop in? Embry's going to head back and try to find Jake."

"Break the news, huh?"

"Something like that."

"Okay. I can be there in a few. Making a stop first."

I dropped the phone onto the table after saying goodbye to Leah. Embry stood and helped me up and we walked to the door.

"I had a good time today."

"Me, too. Thanks."

Embry leaned down and I figured he might be planning to kiss my cheek again. This whole second-guessing thing wasn't like me. I'd always had a tendency to make up my mind quickly and then stick with my decision. The fact that I doubted when I had no reason to…well, that was probably something else I could blame on Edward. He had left me, and I'd come to terms with that. I couldn't—and wouldn't—make my decisions based on anyone else, anymore than Embry was.

Even though I'd talked earlier about taking time to figure this out and what I wanted, I didn't really need to. I liked Embry and he liked me. Neither of us was attached to anyone else, and it seemed pretty clear that we both wanted to be attached to each other. Embry had said he'd wait for a sign from me—well, I'd give him one. As his face got close to mine, I turned so that instead of my cheek, his lips landed on mine.

Despite them having the same initials, kissing Embry Call was utterly and completely as different from kissing Edward Cullen as I could possibly imagine. Where Edward's lips had been cold and hard, and had forced mine to mold around his, Embry's lips were soft and warm, shaping to mine even as mine shaped to his. He pulled back, eyes wide and breath panting, staring at me for a second before pulling me closer and up onto my tiptoes and kissing me again. Then, I stopped thinking about anything at all.

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Embry POV

In hindsight, I would marvel at the fact that I didn't have a heart attack or go floating up to the ceiling. Kissing Bella in real life and on her lips…my dreams didn't come close to capturing what it was really like. I'd meant to kiss her cheek again—I'd promised not to push her—but she'd totally turned the tables on me. But I wasn't going to complain; in fact, I kissed her again. Maybe I'd paid more attention than I realized to the locker room talk or maybe it was just a natural skill I'd never known I had, but Bella seemed to like it when my tongue traced the seam of her lips. A little sigh escaped her and it somehow fired me up even more. I only realized I'd moved us when my hands on Bella's arms landed against the wall.

The soft thud brought us both back to reality, and I let go and staggered back a step. We'd taken a big step forward today, and it had nearly run away with us both. Bella's eyes were hazed and her tongue peeked out to trace over the lips I'd just been attached to.

"Wow," I managed, for both of us.

"Yeah."

"You did that on purpose," I realized.

"I promised you a sign, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. Message received…girlfriend."

Whatever Bella was going to say was interrupted by a rapping on the door that made us both jump. She opened the door to a very smug Leah Clearwater.

"Thought Embry was heading home?" she smirked.

"Just leaving," I said, moving to the side so that she could come in and I could go out.

She gave me an up-and-down glance that accurately assessed my problem. "Yeah, I can see that." Leah looked between me and Bella, clearly seeing what we'd just been doing.

"Talk to you soon," I reminded Bella as I stepped out the door.

As I passed her, Leah murmured, "Nice move, Call," in a low tone.

I only offered my own small smirk, and headed for my bike.

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AN: End of #17 got tweaked to deal with a little inconsistency with Jake's confession.


	20. No Rest for the Wicked

Freckles (Guest): Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, they are sweet and perfect for each other.

AN: This one is a necessary "meanwhile back with the pack"… This one starts right where chapter 17 ended, right after Jake has managed to phase back to human.

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Narrator POV

"Jake, this is my wife, Emily. Jared Cameron and his fiancée Kim. And you already know Paul Lahote."

"Sure, sure. I've only had those two in my head almost all week," Jake pointed to the other two wolves.

"Watch it," Sam growled softly. He might be willing to cut Jake a little slack given what he'd just been through, but there were limits to his tolerance.

"Em, this is Jake," the Alpha told his imprint.

"Hello, Jake. I'm sure I don't need to ask if you're hungry. We're pretty informal here—the only rule is no harming one another over food," Emily smiled warmly.

Kim nodded to him, but didn't say anything. Jared had his arms around her and was watching Jake intensely.

"Ladies first," Sam announced. Once both girls had filled their plates, Sam moved to follow them. No longer able to resist the lure of the food, Jake and Quil started toward the counter buffet.

"Wait your turn," Paul cut in.

"Why?" Jake wanted to know.

"Because we were here first, pup. Seniority rules."

"And a hungry young wolf is an upset wolf," Emily reminded him.

"We're _always_ hungry, Em."

"And you've had real food a lot more recently than these two have, Jake here especially. Unless you're planning on having a dominance contest in my kitchen—which I'd rather you _didn't_—then I think they can go ahead this time."

Paul sneered but didn't argue with the Alpha's mate.

Jake found himself proving Paul right by clearing his plate in no time flat and going back for more. His stomach was actually a bit distended by the time he stopped.

"Okay, Jake, you should go home and see your dad. Get a shower and some sleep. I want you back here in the morning. Quil, you'll come out with me for a while. Jared, Paul, you're on your regular shift later."

"When can I see Bells?" Jake asked Sam.

"I don't know yet," the Alpha replied. "Billy, shower, and sleep need to come first. You've only just gotten back to human. Don't rush it. Bella isn't going anywhere."

Jake wanted to argue, but Sam's repetition of "Billy, shower, sleep," nixed that idea. Jared and Kim gave him a ride home, as it was on the way to their own place.

"Go easy on your dad," Jared advised when Jake opened the door to get out. "He hated having to keep the secret."

"Yeah, I bet he did—just as much as I hate that he still did it anyway," Jake slammed the door shut harder than he meant to and stalked toward the house he'd grown up in. His dad saying his name greeted the youth before he was all the way in the door.

"Why didn't you tell me? Warn me?" Jake's voice cracked embarrassingly.

"I couldn't. Tribal law—"

"You're the freaking chief of the tribe, _Dad_. You can break the rules if you really want to."

"That's exactly why I couldn't, Jake. If the chief doesn't obey, then why should anyone else?" Billy sighed heavily. "I wish there was anything I could say to make this better, but there really isn't. I know you're angry with me, and I accept that. Why don't I fix you something to eat while you grab a shower, and then we can talk—or you can yell—tomorrow?"

Jake started to say that he'd only just finished eating a ton over at Sam's before he realized that Paul had been right: wolves—or so it seemed—really were always hungry. "Sure, sure," he made an effort at his usual tone to go with his trademark phrase. Whether it was Sam's order from earlier, Jared's warning just now, or his own common sense, but he knew that talking to his dad right now wasn't a good idea. And he really did stink and feel pretty grubby.

The shower mostly finished the job that the food earlier had started. Jake felt a lot more human at the end of it. At least, he felt that way until he got a good look at himself in the bathroom mirror. He now had to duck down to see his head, his face was leaner and the bones more defined, and his hair… 'Rat's nest' was too kind a description. Yanking the comb through his hair brought pain and the welling blood when he pulled too hard. Jake stared in amazement as his scalp healed up almost instantly.

"You'll probably want that trimmed short," his dad spoke quietly from the doorway. "Keep it from tangling up all the time.

This matter-of-fact statement of something else that was changing whether he liked it or not made Jake's face contort in a visible struggle to rein in his temper.

"I can do it while you eat—I swear you won't end up like Rachel's Barbie doll did."

Unwillingly, Jake's mouth twitched. "Stupid spiky buzz cut," he muttered. Years ago, one of Jake's older twin sisters had tried to give her doll a haircut and ended up chopping all of its hair off.

"Yeah," Billy agreed.

"Okay." Jake still didn't like the idea, but he disliked the idea of going through this hair torture on a daily basis even more. Eating took part of his attention away from the awareness that his dad was chopping off the long hair they'd had in common.

"Go get some sleep, Jake," Billy said once he was done. "We can talk tomorrow if you want to."

Part of the teenager want to hash everything out now, but being clean, full, and warm had caught up with him and his eyelids now started to droop.

"Sure, sure," he mumbled, standing up and heading for his bedroom. There followed another rude awakening when his feet slammed into the footboard on his bed. Jake cursed, grabbed a blanket to use as padding, and stuck his feet out over the end. He barely had time to think _Bella_ before he was sound asleep.

As Billy handled the broom and long-handled dust pan to sweep up the remnants of his son's once-long hair, Billy prayed that all would now be well.

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In the pitch black of the middle of the night, Paul and Jared made their circuits through the forest.

_Kim still pissed at you?_

_Yeah._

_Well, it __**is**__ your fault, you know._

_You think I wanted—_Jared broke off, all-too-aware that just about anything he might say would likely offend his imprint, the spirits, or their ancestors.

_You drive the toll way, you pay the toll._

_Shut up, Paul,_ Jared wasn't amused.

_Okay…Hey, you notice what Sam hasn't told him yet?_

_Huh?_

_Baby Alpha._

_What?_

_Sheesh, your brain's a mess. You not getting any?_

_**Shut up, Paul!**__ What is it you think Sam hasn't told Jake?_

_About Bella._

_Oh…crap._

_Yep. All Sam's reasons to keep him away from her are only going to last for so long. And if it __**isn't**__ Jake who imprints on the girl…_

_There's gonna be hell to pay._

_That's what I figure. Best friends or not, I can just about see Jake ordering Quil to stay away from her or whatever, just to make sure it didn't happen._

_You really think he'd be that cruel?_

_If it means he doesn't have to watch his best friend with __**his**__ girl? Oh yeah, I'd believe it._

_Shit,_ Jared upgraded his profanity.

_Don't get me wrong—I don't blame Sam for not wanting to face it until he has to, but hell later versus hell now is still hell._

_And maybe we can avoid it altogether and Jake'll imprint on her._

_Maybe. But you really think we'll be that lucky?_

_I—_Jared broke off abruptly. _It's them! _He dug his paws into the damp soil as he put on speed. Farther away, Paul did the same, after first throwing back his head to howl a warning for the rest of the pack. Sam phased in first, mind already alert and seeking out the information on the approaching threat from Jared's and Paul's thoughts. Quil and Jake joined the collective mind a few seconds later, both clearly shaking the fog of sleep from their heads.

_What's going on?_ The new wolves asked.

_Watch and run,_ Sam ordered. Instinct propelled them forward in the wake of the other wolves, seeing what they saw. It was both of them this time: the red-headed female and the Rastafarian-looking male.

_A black vampire?_ Quil wondered. He shut up immediately when everyone else mentally shouted, _Shut up,_ at him.

_Quil, Jacob, back up Paul. Jared, with me,_ Sam ordered as the two running leeches suddenly split up. _Chase them down, rip them up. Don't let them grab you and definitely don't let them bite you,_ the Alpha reminded the new wolves of the lessons they'd gotten in the past few days.

Instincts ran strong and true, more than making up for the fact that this was the first hunt for 2/5 of the pack. Massive wolves ran through the woods with a speed that belied their size. Sam and Jared chased the female, coming at her from two sides to try and pin her down this time. But she made a hard turn and sprinted off toward the edge of the cliff on the rez side of the river. With a massive kickoff, she launched herself into the void, easily clearing the span to land on the other side. Alpha and Beta skidded to a halt before they could shoot off the edge and take an unwanted plunge; they were nowhere near as aerodynamic as the vampire and couldn't manage the distance.

_She's gone,_ Jared snarled.

Sam didn't reply to the obvious. He was now focused on the other chase. Three against one was better odds and this pincer move was more effective. Jake was quickly proving himself to be the fastest in the pack. He used a boulder as a launch pad, reaching out with his jaws to latch onto the bloodsucker's arm. The violent ripping yank flung the rest of the man's body through the air to crash against a tree. But somehow he managed to use his remaining hand to grip the tree's trunk and swing himself around it in a shower of bark before shooting upward to disappear into the shadows of the upper branches. Faint snaps, swishes, and the swaying of trees told of his aerial movements.

_Follow, _Paul told the others, leading the way. They tried for a while, but had to accept that both leeches had gotten away.

_Think he'll come back for the arm? _asked Quil.

_If he does, we'll burn him like we will it._ Being the only ones with intact clothes, Jared and Paul phased back and gathered wood for a fire.

"Better toss it on and not drop it," Paul advised Jake, who had dropped the severed arm from his mouth onto the ground. "Then you'll probably want to gargle a gallon of mouthwash to get rid of the taste."

Right after sending the limb sailing into the fire, Jake swiped his tongue over the grass—and then started hacking to get the blades out of his mouth.

"I said mouthwash, not grass," Paul groaned.

Highly flammable—due to being saturated with venom, the older wolves said—the arm quickly burnt to ashes, giving off a sickening dark smoke in the process. After extinguishing the flames with soil, Paul and Jared phased back.

_Everyone is safe,_ Sam reminded them all. _And thanks to Jake, one of them is now wounded._

_But what do they want? _Jake wanted to know.

_Blood and death, same as they all do_, Paul growled.

_We're going to focus on catching them first, then we can see about keeping the heads intact long enough to question them,_ Sam decided. _Okay, everyone back as you were. We'll meet for breakfast and go over everything._

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AN: So this is what happened while Embry and Bella were having their nice dreams. Next chapter may (I think) cover Jake's day while Bella and Embry are having their date (chapter 18-19), and perhaps our favorite couple as they process post-date. We'll see what my muse gives me.


	21. The Pot is on the Stove

AN: I realize that last chapter didn't have our dear couple (sorry, but the chapter was necessary). We've got them here, though, so hopefully this helps. This chapter jumps around a little bit in timeline, but I've put little indicators of what happens when. I'll try to get all my characters on the same day as soon as I can, both for your sanity and for mine.

I've been dealing with some rough stuff in life lately, and it'll last for a while, so thanks to all who have sent reviews and to those who will review. It really gives me a boost and lots of writing motivation.

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Jake POV (morning of Embry and Bella's date)

When I woke up in the morning, my decision to thrash everything out with my dad did a complete 180. Staring again at my altered face in the mirror, feeling the alien shortness of my buzzed hair, I felt like I no longer knew who I was. Emptying out yet another dresser drawer trying to find something that would still fit my new body, my eyes were caught by one of the pictures tacked to the wall: one of me and Bella from earlier this summer. I could almost pity the boy I'd been then, who didn't have any idea what was about to slam into his life.

"Breakfast's ready, Jake," my dad's voice was as clear to me all the way across the house and through my closed door as it would have been if he was right next to me. Facing Chief Billy Black was the last thing I wanted to do right now. If I had to listen to more of his excuses about why he hadn't told me anything…

In a rush, I finally found a pair of baggy gym shorts that ended up not being baggy anymore and pulled them on along with a pair of sneakers. I threw open my bedroom window and vaulted outside before the squeak of Dad's wheelchair got halfway down the hall. My longer strides quickly carried me across the yard and into the woods.

_Now what am I supposed to do?_ I wondered; then I remembered that Sam—freaking Alpha Sam—had set a pack meeting for this morning. _They better be serving breakfast._

Fortunately for my completely empty stomach, Sam's wife Emily did in fact have a large breakfast spread all ready and waiting.

"Hello, Jacob._"_

"Jake."

"Sorry. Jake. Help yourself."

I filled a plate as full as it could get and found an empty chair at one end of the table. Sam was at the head of the table, with that girl Kim on one side of him and Jared next to her. Before I'd gotten halfway through my food, footsteps outside were followed by Paul and Quil coming inside the house.

"Mmm, bacon," Paul rumbled, dumping half said supply onto his plate.

"Save some for your brothers," Emily chided.

"You've got another package there on the counter—they'll get their share," he smirked. Emily gave one of those 'mom' sighs I remembered from childhood and reached for the package Paul had pointed out.

Plate now empty, I got up to grab whatever Quil and Paul had left behind. Emily turned to refill the bacon dish, and I saw a round scar on her neck, just about where it met her shoulder. When I stared harder, the scar was actually two semi-circles and they looked like…teeth marks.

_Okay…I really didn't need to know that Sam's into kinky sex,_ I thought, and headed back to the table. But my plan to ignore it evaporated when I saw the exact same scar on Kim's neck, visible only because her hair was pulled back in a ponytail like Emily's.

"Hey, what's with the matching scars here? Some kind of freaky wolf-sex thing or something?"

Sam and Jared both growled, the girls' hands flew up to cover the scars, Quil's mouth dropped open, and Paul just smirked again.

"Don't speak of our imprints that way again," Sam commanded.

"What?" I was confused. "Wait, those are because—?"

"Emily is my imprint, and Kim is Jared's. When the bonds between wolves and imprints were accepted, yes, our wolves did mark them."

"Then…" I struggled to get the words out, "I'll do that to Bella after I imprint on her?"

Sam started to nod his head slowly. Paul interrupted with, "If."

"What?"

"Paul!"

"What do you mean 'if'?"

"Let it be, Jake," Sam sighed.

"No! I thought we were supposed to be one _big happy family._ What aren't you saying?"

"When I found Bella in the woods, I felt the pull that marked her as a future imprint. The way Bella responded to you in the hospital, how she got better being around you, the connection the two of you seem to have always had…I believed then, and I believe now, that she will be your imprint."

"So what's he going on about?" I jerked my head toward Paul.

"The pull didn't specify who would imprint on Bella—and you aren't the only wolf who's joined the pack since that night."

My eyes whipped around to glare at Quil in the chair next to me. He threw his hands up defensively. "Hey, man, I don't want—"

"You won't have a choice, if it happens," Jared responded soberly. "It's irresistible—at least for long. Sam only lasted a few weeks, and the only reason I waited a few months was Kim insisting we not take that step until we'd graduated."

I flicked my eyes over to Kim, who was nodding. "So it's the girl's choice? Bella could say no if—" I broke off; finishing the question with 'if Quil imprinted on her' was impossible. I couldn't even think that she and I wouldn't be together.

"The legends _say_ that the choice of acceptance—of what kind of bond the imprint will be—is up to the girl, but in reality…_all_ imprints become mated ones. Jared is right; the only question is that of timing."

"Then Quil just won't look at her, will he?" I asked harshly.

"You can't ask that," Sam denied. "Imprintings are sacred and can't be interfered with. _If_—and I will emphasize _if_—Bella is Quil's imprint, then you can't get in the way."

"So you're saying I could watch my _best friend_, my _pack brother_, imprint on the girl of my dreams, and there will be nothing I can do about it?"

Emily approached the table with more food. She set it down, and moved to stand behind Sam, resting her hands on his shoulders. Then she spoke, "Sam's not saying that Quil _will_ imprint on Bella, just that it's a possibility. He could just as easily be right in everything he said that points to you."

"But he can't promise it, _can he_?" I snarled, not really meaning it as a question. "Why the hell did you tell me in the first place, then? Huh, Sam? Why tell me?"

I didn't really register Sam excusing the fact that he hadn't even thought about Quil being a factor, or him repeating all the 'signs' he'd mentioned already. All I could hear was the pulse pounding in my ears, the rage gradually building the longer the idea that I could lose Bella had time to sink in.

"_**Jacob! Outside! NOW!**_" Sam's voice roared in a fierce, absolute, and undeniable order. My body was moving in obedience before the command fully registered, and by that point, resistance was futile. My feet had only just hit the dirt before the anger was uncontrollable; my body twisted, tore—.

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Narrator POV

The violence of Jake's phase was almost as audible as the ripping of his shorts, the pounding heartbeats and rasping breaths of the two imprints. Everyone sat frozen for a long moment. Then,

"What the hell were you thinking, Paul?" Sam snarled, now on his feet and with his arms wrapped tightly around Emily. "Just had to stir things up, did you?"

"Yeah," Jared put in his opinion, "Whatever happened to you understanding why Sam wasn't dumping all that on him, huh?"

"I don't know, okay? And how was I supposed to know he'd run with it like that? Not have the common sense to let it lay?"

"How the hell should I know? You're the one who did all that fortune-teller stuff last night, about how Jake would order Quil away from her if it happened. So why the hell didn't you see that he'd freak out just with knowing it was possible? He could have phased in here, you idiot! Right next to my—" Jared pulled a still-shaking Kim onto his lap, and she willingly let him.

"Jared, you take care of Kim. Paul, you're going to help Emily with whatever she needs. Quil, you go…anywhere, I don't care. Just stay human today, got it?" Sam shot out the orders to the members of his pack. Jared didn't raise his head from the crook of Kim's neck, while Paul and Quil both nodded, the latter emphatically. With effort, the Alpha let go of his imprint and started for the door. Before he stepped out onto the porch, he turned and speared Paul with an iron stare. "And Paul—"

"Yeah?"

"If I have to chase him halfway to Canada again…you're on double patrols for at least a week. Got it?"

Sam didn't bother waiting for his subordinate to respond; he just launched off the porch, sacrificing yet another set of clothes to the demands of his position.

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Narrator POV

_Jake!_

_Damn you, Sam! Why didn't you tell me? Why did you tell me? How could you—"_ Jake's thoughts were wild and chaotic.

_I didn't think about Quil, alright? __**No one did!**__ Quil's mom was the only one who thought about it. That council meeting was after you and Quil phased, and after I'd told you about the whole imprinting business, so it's not like I could take it back. And I didn't say anything after that because I haven't seen anything to make me think it could be Quil, and everything to say that it will be you._

_Does my dad agree with you?_

_He does. Jake, would you mind stopping? This conversation will be a lot easier if we aren't both running at the same time._

_And if I don't?_

_I don't want to have to order you again, but I will if I have to. Just think about those vampires we chased last night. You really want to give them a shot at getting through if they try again, just because you want to run to who-knows-where and want to make me chase you?_

_Bella!_ Jake skidded to a stop, spun around, and started running back.

_Easy, _Sam suggested. _She'll be fine. It's a nice sunny day right now._

_And what's that got to do with it?_

_Vampires sparkle, remember_? _Not like one can go strolling around Forks today without being noticed._

_So what am I supposed to do?_

_For one thing, you __**have**__ to start working harder on your control. I don't want to keep a wolf away from his imprint, but I'm not about to let you get anywhere close to Bella with the shape you're in right now. You still lose it too easily, Jake. If Bella was close by and that happened…_

_You think I'd hurt Bella?_

_I almost hurt Emily,_ Sam's reply shut Jake down. _It was right after I met her and imprinted. She couldn't figure out why the strange guy she met at the gathering followed her all the way back home to the Makah Reservation—she thought I was a crazy stalker. She tried to make me leave, said I was delusional when I tried to explain the truth to her—anyway, I started to lose my temper. I don't know how I jumped away from her before I phased. If I hadn't, I would have slashed her face and arm to ribbons._ The Alpha's sick horror at what could have happened rocked the younger wolf backward.

_Okay, must get control_, Jake wasn't going to argue with the Alpha's separation order any more.

_The other thing you need to do is talk to your father._

_I can't, _Jake insisted. _Last night, he told me to shower, eat, and sleep, and that we'd talk today. But this morning, even the thought of talking…I had to get out of there._

_And that was the right thing to do, then. But you can't avoid him forever. He's your dad and your chief. Keep it outside, but listen to him. He wants to help you, Jake._

_I can't,_ Jake repeated.

_**You will**__, Jacob,_ Sam was insistent. _But I can give you a few more hours to get ready. We'll run together today, but __**you will**__ go home for dinner and talk to your dad._

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Embry POV (right after the date)

"Nice move, Call," Leah's words echoed in my head as I walked toward my bike. I wasn't sure what she and Bella might have talked about, but they must've done some, or Leah wouldn't have acted this way. It was a little surprising to see how good it felt that she approved of Bella and me becoming an 'us'. Having our parents be happy was great, but getting the okay/thumbs up/whatever from a friend was important, too.

Friends…I grimaced to the starting of my engine. Jake. Charlie had probably been right to ask me about this the other night. I might not see this as stepping on his toes or stealing his girl, but I knew my best friend well enough to know that there was a good chance that he'd see it that way anyway.

_But he never __**said **__anything to her or to me. So it was just my suspicions._

Okay, maybe my justifications were a bit thin_, _but I wasn'tgoing to feel sorry for what I'd done the last few days. And having kissed Bella properly now—there was no way in the world I would give this up.

_Time to face the music,_ I thought, and turned my bike for La Push.

Even though I hoped for different, I honestly wasn't all that surprised that the scene in Jake's yard hadn't changed one bit from the last time I'd been here. Leaves dotted Bella's truck where they'd stuck to some overnight rain and dried there. I ducked into the garage to find it empty of anything but the smell of a trashcan that badly needed to be emptied. I grabbed the bag and tossed it in the trash cart on my way to the house. When he opened the door in response to my rapping on the glass, Billy was even less happy to see me than he had been the last time.

"Embry."

"Hey, Billy. Jake back yet?"

"Nope."

"Has he even laid a finger on Bella's truck?"

No answer.

"What the hell is going on with him?" My tone got a little heated.

"Tribal responsibilities," Billy's tone was flat.

"And what about his responsibilities to his friends?"

"Jake is doing what he has to. Bella will understand that and so should you."

"All I understand is that my best friend doesn't seem to give a damn about me anymore. And I think that all Bella's going to see is that he couldn't be bothered to keep his promise to her."

"I think you need to go home and calm down. I'll tell Jake—"

"You can tell him _nothing_!" I knew I was being rude, but I just didn't care anymore. This whole week of Jake's whatever-this-was had obviously pushed my temper to the boiling point. "When he's ready to pull his head out of wherever he's stuck it, he knows where to find me." I stalked away and gunned the engine deliberately as I left.

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Bella POV (right after the date)

"So…?" Leah dragged out the word expectantly as she dropped onto the couch.

"Needle pulling thread," I giggled.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"Thanks."

"You and Embry are official now, huh?"

"Yeah. He's…" I trailed off, not sure what to say.

"One hell of a kisser, I'm guessing," she added.

"Oh, yeah," I melted into the cushions. While normally a private person, I was surprisingly eager to share with Leah.

"Oh, he's a smooth one," Leah judged after I'd finished telling her about our day.

A nod was my reply.

"You're not over-thinking this, are you?"

"I'm trying not to, but—"

"But nothing. This is a great thing for you, Bella, and that's what you should be thinking about. If someone—Jake, to name the obvious—can't be happy for you if you're happy with someone other than him, then he's just proving that he isn't the right one for you."

"I just don't want Embry and Jake to lose their friendship over me," I protested.

"I stand by what I just said, with Embry inserted instead of you. If Jake's willing to throw away a lifelong friendship over _any_ girl, then Embry can do better without him."

"But—"

"Bella!" Leah was exasperated. "You're worrying without even knowing if you should. Let Embry make this move and see what happens. Now, I'm leaving tomorrow and I expect you all to come and see me off. We're heading out at eight in the morning, so you and Charlie will need to leave here no later than 7:15."

"I'll tell him."

"Okay," Leah glanced at her watch. "Hate to run, but I've still got a to-do list a mile long and I absolutely have to get some sleep tonight. It's a full day's drive from here to Pullman."

Thinking about all the hours that my friend and her parents would be spending in cars had me dashing to the kitchen as soon as we'd said goodbye. I didn't know what Leah's dorm situation would end up being like, but she—and her parents—would surely need some snacks for the road. When Charlie got home, he found the kitchen in a state of apparent chaos and me whirling around like a dervish.

"Bells?" he queried.

"For Leah, when she leaves tomorrow."

"Nice of you."

"I owe her," I explained. "So I'm sending her off with goodies. Oh, she wants us to come down in the morning. They're leaving at 8:00."

"Okay, we can do that. Harry might need a bit of a boost—or a push—anyway." My dad glanced around the kitchen again, and I realized the one thing that I _hadn't_ been working on: dinner.

"Oh, shoot. I forgot about dinner. I'm sorry."

"Don't you start," Charlie warned. "Dinner will be on me tonight. You are _not_ going to fix me dinner after doing all of this. I can order a pizza or we could go to the diner."

I glanced down at my flour-splattered shirt. "Pizza. I'm too messy to go out in public now."

He nodded, and headed for the phone to call in the order, then went upstairs to change.

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Before I went up to bed, I made sure that all the food would be ready to transport in the morning. I wasn't all that thrilled about the early wake-up call that was needed to get Charlie and me down to La Push in time to say goodbye to Leah. I wasn't happy about having to say goodbye to her, either. I knew she was excited to be going off to college, and to put distance between her and her ex, but Leah had been such a huge help to me in getting over Edward and in deciding to give Embry a chance. Sure, we could email, text, call, and Skype, but that wouldn't be the same.

Knowing that I'd be talking with Embry soon, I rushed through my nighttime routine in the bathroom. I'd only just picked up my phone when it started to ring.

"Hi, Embry."

"Hey," Embry's voice was despondent.

"What's wrong? Was it Jake? Did he go ballistic when you told him?" The questions poured out of me.

"I didn't tell him—never got the chance."

"He _still_ wasn't there?"

"Got it in one. Billy was, though, and man, was he pissed."

"Are you kidding? Why?"

"I don't know. Got all offended that I was upset that Jake's avoiding me. Went all 'tribal heritage' bull-crap on me; said that we—you and me both—should understand."

"What?" I winced at how loudly that had come out, and glanced automatically toward the door, wondering if Charlie was going to come to check on me.

"He said that Jake is doing what he has to do, and that we should just understand that it means ignoring us and everything else. And…" Embry hesitated a few seconds, "he hasn't touched your truck, either. It's still sitting in front of the garage just like the day you left it there."

I saw red for a second, caught by a wave of sudden fury. "_He hasn't even touched my truck?"_ I hissed. Had the world gone all crazy? Jake and Billy both had to know how important having my vehicle was to me. How could Jake think he could ignore it, after promising me he'd get it fixed right away? How could Billy think I'd accept that, or the rest of it? "Damn it," I swore.

Embry gave what seemed like an involuntary chuckle. "Bella cussed."

"Yeah, I did. And I'll probably do a lot worse if I ever see him again."

"Right now, I'm not sure if I care whether I see him or not," Embry admitted. "And I don't think I care how or when he finds out about us, either. I've tried reaching out, and—screw it. I am done, done, and done with worrying about Jake Black. And that should go for you, too."

"Yeah, I think so. And maybe it's time for my dad to have a chat with Billy. About the truck, at least."

"Maybe he'll have better luck," but Embry didn't sound all that convinced.

Well, I thought it was time to distract both of us. "So, what should we do after we get Leah sent off to college tomorrow?"

"What do you want to do?"

"It's your home ground, you tell me."

"Beach is always nice. We could look for shells, or just walk. Maybe hang out at my house afterward."

"Sounds nice," I probably would like anything that meant spending time with Embry, but I was still grateful that he hadn't suggested anything overly physical like surfing.

"Then I guess that's what we'll do."

"I can't wait."

"Night, Bells," Charlie called through my closed door.

"Night, Dad," I called back.

"Sweet dreams, then, Bella," Embry told me. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Until then. Sweet dreams to you, too."

I set my phone on my nightstand and settled down in my bed.


	22. To the Beach

Congrats to RosesAreForWriters for being review #350 for this story on FF.

Sorry for taking a little while on this. Important family stuff to deal with that took away my typing time. But to make it up to you, I'm giving you a very long chapter this time—I think it might be the longest one yet. Just couldn't stop writing.

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Bella POV

As I planned to spend the day with Embry in La Push, I didn't mind this trip down in Charlie's cruiser. He'd head to work right after we saw Leah and her parents off, and Embry would see that I got home at some point.

"Another year and this will be you," Charlie mused.

"Yeah, guess it will be."

"Any ideas where you might want to go or what you'll study?"

"Not really. I've always liked literature, so I could study that; but I'm not sure what jobs are out there."

"You could teach, like your mom."

"I don't have her energy," I protested.

"They need teachers in colleges, don't they? Maybe you could teach that literature stuff."

"Maybe," I hedged. Speaking in front of an audience was still speaking in front of an audience, no matter its size or age. And I thought that college classes usually had a lot of people in them. But...those students were usually there because they wanted to be, so that might help. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Fine. Just keep your mom and me in the loop, okay? If you want to visit schools and stuff, apply for financial aid..."

"I will."

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Embry was leaning against the porch railing when my dad pulled the car up in front of the Clearwater house. Leah's car was packed as tightly as one of the circus clown cars and a station wagon was in similar shape. Leah's younger brother Seth slammed the wagon's back door shut and hollered, "Can I go now?" toward the house.

"You can wait half an hour until your sister leaves," his mom, Sue, called back, exiting the house with a bag in her hands.

"Hi, Charlie. Hi, Bella," she greeted us.

"Sue."

"Hello."

Shoving off his spot, Embry walked over to me and boldly leaned down for a quick kiss. Seth gagged noisily, my dad made a choking noise in his throat, and Sue gave a funny look. From Embry's smirk as he pulled back and shifted to stand beside me, I knew it had been deliberate. And somehow I didn't mind. It was...nice that he wanted people here to know how he felt about me.

"Charlie," Embry shook my dad's hand and then wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Embry."

"Mmm, something smells good," my new boyfriend sniffed appreciatively.

"Food for Leah and her parents for the drive," I explained.

"Why, thank you, Bella," Sue said.

"No fair," Seth groaned.

"That's life, little brother," Leah breezed past him. "Hey girl."

"Hi, Leah. Snack mix and cookies. Easy to eat on the road and nothing you have to worry about keeping at a safe temperature. There are even some extra cookies for you to share with new friends once you get there."

Leah looked horrified. "Share my food? You know that's cruel-to them and to me. I don't want to share your goodies; if I do, they'll only expect me to make more, and you know I can't cook this good."

Pretending to be put-upon, I sighed, "Just give me a little notice of when you're coming back for a visit, and I can try to make something up."

"Oh, bless you," she pulled me away from Embry and into a hug.

"Man, that's really not fair!" complained Seth.

I pulled a baggie of cookies out of the sack I held and tossed them over. "For you." Presumably, the mumble that he gave a few seconds later around a mouthful of the cookies was meant to be "Thank you".

"I'll miss you," I whispered to Leah.

"I'm just a call, text, or email away-just watch the time if you're calling me, okay?"

"I thought college students pulled a lot of all-nighters?"

"They shouldn't," Sue decreed. "Getting plenty of sleep is important both to help them learn and also to stay healthy."

"You two have fun," Leah directed at Embry. To me, "Keep me in the gossip loop, alright?"

"Sure."

"Leah, Harry, time to go," Sue started to marshal her family. "Seth, please remember your manners."

"Mom! It's just Brady and his parents. They're family."

"Even more reason to behave. Be good and we'll be back the day after tomorrow."

"Okay..."

"Bye, squirt," Leah grabbed him and mussed his hair.

"Cut it out, Leah," he shook his head.

"Up for a fishing trip this weekend to unwind?" Charlie asked Harry.

"Oh, yeah."

With a few more goodbyes and waves, Leah and her parents were gone. Seth ran off to join his friends before they were out of sight. Charlie looked at me and my boyfriend.

"You two have plans for today?"

"I thought maybe a walk on the beach and lunch at my place," Embry answered.

"It's starting to rain," my dad noted.

"Usually is," laughed Embry. "We'll swing by my place and I'll get a better jacket for Bella."

"Okay..." Charlie seemed to question our sanity in going to the beach in the rain, but as he went fishing in the rain, there wasn't much room for comment. "Call if you'll be later than dinnertime, okay?"

"Sure. Be safe."

"Always am. Oh, Bells, your truck ready yet?"

I shook my head and Embry scowled-which Charlie noticed.

"Jake hasn't done anything with it, at least not that I could tell when I went by yesterday," Embry explained.

My dad frowned and looked at his watch, then sighed. "I've got to get to work now, or I'd swing by Billy's place and talk to him. Bella, I'll give him a call today and find out what's going on."

"Sure, Dad. Thanks."

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"The beach in the rain, huh?" I teased Embry as we began the walk to his house.

"We live in the rainiest place in the continental U.S. If we only did stuff when it wasn't raining, we'd almost never do anything outside at all," he rationalized. "Anyway, it's a warm rain."

"Sounds fun." I might not have done this on my own, but doing it with Embry somehow turned it into something fun.

"I'm feeling a little left out, you know." Embry's comment made me look at him in shock.

"How?"

"Harry and Sue got cookies, Leah got cookies—even Seth got cookies. And I'll bet you gave some to your dad for him to take to work. Don't I get any?" He gave me the biggest puppy-dog eyes. I caved, and pulled the other baggie out of my pocket.

"Yum!" he opened the bag and ate two at once. When he extended the bag back to me, I reached for one, just to be polite. Embry demolished the entire bag before we reached his house, and I found myself promising to make him a larger batch.

I swapped my jacket for the raincoat Embry had promised and my sneakers for a pair of his mom's boots. Hand in hand, we walked in the direction of the beach.

"It's really nice of your mom to let me borrow her stuff all the time."

"She's like that," Embry agreed, "but the jacket used to be mine."

"Used to be?"

"I must've had a bit of a growth spurt since last winter-it's too small for me now. And speaking of moms..."

I knew what he meant. "She wants me to send her a picture of you-of us." I sneaked a glance up at him and his cheeks were just a little pink I thought, though it was hard to tell.

"So she approves?"

"Oh yeah..."

(flashback)

As I mixed up the ingredients for Leah's favorite chocolate chip/peanut butter chip cookies, I thought about what Embry had said earlier about telling my mom about us. I knew he was right, and that this was something that Renee was entitled to know about. So after I had slid the first tray of cookies into the oven, I pulled out and called.

"Hey, Mom."

"Bella! How are you doing?"

"Good. Things are good."

"Like what?"

"Leah Clearwater is about to head to college."

"That's good. Where's she going?"

"Washington State-Pullman."

"Oh, I'm sure Sue must be all emotional."

I wasn't sure about that, but Renee would know better than I how Sue might be feeling. "She's going to be at the same school as Rachel Black."

"Billy and Sarah's daughter."

"Right."

"How are the Black's doing?"

Oh, what a loaded question. "Fine, I think. Jake's been busy, or something, this week, so I've spent a lot of time with one of his friends from La Push."

"Who?"

"Embry."

As I'd expected, Renee's mom-radar switched on, even from the other side of the country. "And is Embry a friend of yours, too, Bella?"

"Yeah."

"Anything you want to tell me?"

"Embry's also my new boyfriend," I confessed.

"I wondered. Your voice changed when you started talking about him."

"It did?"

"Mmmhmm. So, tell me more about him."

I considered. How could I sum up Embry in only a few words? "He's nice and sweet, but he's not a goody-goody. Helpful, but not someone who gets steamrollered. Only child, raised by a single mom. Smart, good-looking..."

"Sexy?"

"Mom!"

"Really, Bella. Native boys-men are very good looking. I remember that. Well, you take a picture of him-better yet, one of both of you-and I can decide that for myself."

"Okay."

"So, have you done anything together officially?"

I gave my mom the highlights of today's picnic date with Embry, and Renee agreed with Leah's assessment. "And your next date?"

"I'm not sure yet. We're going to do something tomorrow, but we haven't decided yet what it will be. We'll talk tonight and figure it out. It'll probably be something simple. He's not fancy or dramatic or anything like that-but neither am I."

"Big dates can be special, since they're something out of the ordinary. But if they're like that all the time, then it starts to not mean as much."

Thinking back to the Cullens and their penchant for always going over the top and doing things to excess, I had to admit she was right. Renee's silence now made me think that she was trying not to say or ask something.

"Mom?"

"It's nothing. I don't want to bring it up."

But I knew what it had to be. "He's nothing like Edward. Embry...understands me, respects me."

"Good. He'd better. I'm happy for you."

(end flashback)

"That's great," Embry smiled down at me and claimed my hand. He set our linked hands to swinging as we walked.

Down at the beach, it turned out that we weren't the only ones there, despite the misty rain. An increasingly loud barking made me turn to see a dog running toward us.

"Pixie," Embry greeted the dog as it skidded to a halt in front of us. He bent down to scratch it's-her head and ears. "Pixie, Bella. Bella, Pixie," Embry introduced the dog and me.

"Old friend of yours?" I asked.

Embry swiped up a piece of driftwood from the sand and tossed it; the dog bolted after the improvised toy. "She's not old, but yeah. Her owner is an older tribe member and I started helping him out with her. He comes to the beach and I wear her out with games of fetch and stuff."

"Because it's easier for you to run around with her than for him to. That's nice of you."

Embry shrugged, as if to say that it wasn't a big deal. Pixie had found the stick and taken it to an elderly man sitting on a large piece of driftwood.

"Mr. Pelletier," Embry greeted him. I found myself being regarded by a pair of black eyes in a weathered face. "Mr. Pelletier, this is my girlfriend, Bella Swan. Her dad is the Chief of Police up in Forks, and a friend of Billy Black and Harry Clearwater. Bella, this is Mr. Pelletier, and Pixie."

"It's nice to meet you," I replied. His response was a nod.

The dog whined at my feet and I leaned down to take the stick she offered me. "Do you want to play some more?" I asked. The way she danced around must have been her way of saying 'yes', so I turned and threw the stick. Pixie dashed off again.

Embry laughed as we began to follow her. "You throw like a girl!"

For that, he got a dirty look. "I _am_ a girl."

"But not all girls throw like it."

"You know me and physical activities. I'm probably doing great to even be able to throw like a girl."

Handed another chance, I thought I did a little better the second time around, even though I was laughing after Pixie delivered a juicy lick to my hand.

"Any pets growing up?" Embry asked.

"No. I would have loved a dog, but my mom didn't want all the responsibility and work and mess. Charlie might have gotten me one if I'd asked, but I was only here for a few weeks in the summer; it wouldn't have been fair to have him take care of a pet for the other 50 weeks of the year-not with the hours he works."

"I never had one, either. Pets can be expensive, and it was just something we couldn't afford. But there have always been animals around on the rez, so I was able to play with them or do like I am with Pixie, here."

When Pixie dropped the stick in front of us again, Embry was the one to grab it this time. Then he stepped behind me and took my arm with his free one.

"The art of successfully tossing a stick for a dog..." he began, and proceeded to give me a lesson. How much I actually absorbed, I wasn't sure about. Having Embry at my back, practically wrapped around me so he could guide my arm...I almost thought I could feel his body heat through all the layers of clothing.

"Time to go, Pixie," Embry told her a while later. She gave each of us a lick to the hand and ran back down the beach to her owner, just like she understood exactly what Embry had told her. Once we were sure she was where she belonged, we kept walking along the sand.

"Do you ever get tired of seeing this?" I asked, gesturing to the sand, waves, and everything else around us.

"Never. Sometimes I come here and sit for hours, just watching the waves roll in and out."

I looked that way and saw what he meant. There was something calming about the movement of the water. "Did you ever think of swimming out to those rocks?" and I pointed out into the sea.

Embry laughed. "Nope. Not that crazy. Current gets really strong out there, or so they say. And those rocks are called 'sea stacks' or 'sea mounts'. That big one there, that's called 'Aka-lat' by the people here; it's 'James Island' to the palefaces."

"Do you know what it means? 'Aka-lat'?"

"'On top of the hill'—I know, really imaginative, right?"

"Aren't native names supposed to be descriptive?"

"Guilty." As we went farther along the beach, Embry told me more about the island—which hadn't always been an island—and the other sea rocks. We both lost track of the passage of time, until Embry's stomach gave a very loud growl and my own echoed him.

"Lunch time," he decided, and turned us around to head back.

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AN: Okay, so maybe I fibbed just a little bit. I know that at the beginning of this one, I promised you a super-long chapter, but I'm just giving a long chapter. I've only gotten about half of the handwritten pages for this chapter typed up. So rather than having you wait for another day or two for me to get it done, or typing so fast that I make mistakes, I'll post this part now, and the rest of what would have gone in this chapter in the next one. And since I have part of the chapter after that also handwritten, I'm in good shape for updating.


	23. Discovery

AN: Very proud of myself for getting what would have been the rest of the last chapter to you so quickly. I love all the reviews you've been sending and the guesses some of you have made. Might get answers to some of them here. I had a blast writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy. Can't wait to hear what you think.

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Narrator POV

With his morning paperwork finished, Charlie sipped on his second cup of coffee and thought. He tried to think of what he needed and wanted to say to Billy. They'd been friends almost all of their lives, yet Charlie was at a loss to figure this out. Billy-and their mutual friends Harry Clearwater and Quil Ateara IV-had been a huge help to him when his wife had walked out and taken their daughter with her. He'd tried to repay the favor when Billy's wife Sarah had died, when Quil had drowned, and when Billy himself had been confined to the wheelchair.

Charlie had been thrilled when Bella had reconnected with Billy's son Jake, her old childhood playmate, and through him made more friends. The trio-and some of Bella's loyal friends from school-had done miracles in helping her recover from her breakup and illness. Now, though...neither Jake nor Quil's namesake son had been around in days, or even returned Bella's calls and messages as far as he knew. And to top it off, he'd just found out that Jake apparently hadn't done anything yet to fix Bella's truck, even though he'd promised to take care of that almost a week ago.

Charlie stopped by the receptionist's desk on his way to the privacy of the break room. "Gonna make a call about my daughter's truck, Nancy. Come find me if you need to."

"Sure, Charlie."

_Ring, ring, ring_

"Black residence."

"Hey, Billy."

"Charlie. How are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"Still dancing." Charlie's mustache twitched at the use of the catchphrase that was as natural to Billy as 'sure, sure' was to Jacob. "How's Bella?"

"Okay. Saw Leah off to college this morning. Bit emotional all around, looked like."

"They'll be fine-not like kids don't stay connected nowadays. And Bella's got lots of friends still here."

"Yeah," Charlie wondered if he should mention that Bella had a new boyfriend now to help out, too. He didn't, though-Bella deserved to be able to share that when she wanted to, and Billy was Jake's dad. On that note, "How's Jake?"

"Fine, fine."

"So what has you calling me to chew the fat in the middle of the day, Charlie?"

"Just wanting an update on Bella's truck. She's really antsy to get it back."

"Sorry. Jake's not done with it yet."

"Not done with it? From what Embry said over at Harry's place this morning, it looks like Jake hasn't even touched it yet!" Charlie's voice had a touch of heat in it now.

"He's trying, Charlie, but it's a little more complicated than he thought."

"So, what? Is Jake going to be able to fix it, or should I just call Dowling's and have them tow it to the shop here?"

"Jake hasn't given up on it, I promise. And Dowling's...Charlie, you know as well as I do that they charge an arm and a leg for their work, and a premium for replacement parts. Jake may be young, but he's good-and he's determined to work on this for Bella, so I know that he'll be persistent in tracking down any parts the old beast will need-and get them at a better price than Dowling's would offer you."

"So I've got your-and his-word that the truck will be fixed-and soon?"

"Jake will do everything he can as fast as he can," Billy promised. "Give him a chance."

"Okayyyy," Charlie drew the word out. "But I'm going to start thinking of a Plan B. I don't want my girl getting stranded somewhere because her truck went bad again. Might need something better when she goes off to college, anyway."

"Probably not a bad idea. That old truck has lasted a really long time, but I guess nothing lasts forever."

"Guess not."

"I'll tell Jake we talked and get back to you."

"Some reason Jake can't just tell Bella directly? They're about to be seniors in high school-we shouldn't have to play the piece of string in their game of Telephone."

"He will if he can."

"And why can't he? I may be butting into my daughter's business here-but after all the stuff that's happened this year, I think I'm entitled to-so why has Jake been missing in action all this week? He been so busy staring at the guts of that truck, or looking for parts that he couldn't bother to stop by and see her or even return one of her messages?"

"It takes time, Charlie-"

"Time? How much time does it really take to figure out if it can be fixed at all, or if he knows how, or if the parts are even out there to be bought? And don't think I didn't notice how you avoided answering about Jake and Bella."

"He'll call her."

"When? Not like he's been burning up the phone lines this week like he used to do. But she isn't exactly sitting by the phone waiting for him to call anymore, either. She's got her friends to help her out if Jake can't or won't."

"Jake is still her friend, Charlie, and he always will be."

"Not acting much like it right now. What kind of friend ignores a person for a week?"

"He's just had stuff to deal with the last few days. Tribal business-"

"Don't give me that tribal business crap, Billy. We've known each other too long for that. Okay, maybe you were right in the end about the Cullen's not being the best sort of people. But how in the world can you sit there and tell me that after I just watched my daughter claw her way out of that hole she was in-and doing it with your son's help-that I should somehow be okay with Jake abandoning her just that Cullen boy did?"

"This is nothing like that!" Billy was the one getting angry now.

"You're right: Cullen at least moved out-of-state. Just forget it," Charlie kept talking without giving Billy the chance to say anything. "I don't really want to hear your excuse again; I'm not the one who should be hearing it, anyway. I've got to get back to work. Just have Jake call Bella about her truck soon, okay?"

As soon as Billy agreed, Charlie hung up. He rubbed his face, trying to calm down. Losing his temper like that was almost unheard of for Charlie Swan, but something just wasn't right about all of this.

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Embry POV

The morning was amazing-as all time with Bella was. Even the rain didn't put a damper-literally-on being at the beach. I probably puffed up some when Bella approved of how I helped an older member of my unofficially-adopted tribe and she had fun playing with Pixie into the bargain. I think-okay, I know-I skirted the line getting myself in trouble helping coach Bella on her throwing technique. For all that I was new to this physical stuff, I was picking things up quickly-or else my body knew what it wanted and was just dragging my mind along with it. But fortunately Bella hadn't seemed to notice my problem and Mr. Pelletier had taken Pixie home only a little while later. Talking to Bella about the features surrounding the beach helped distract me-at least, until my stomach interrupted.

Almost as soon as we were out of sight of the people on the beach, I gave up the fight I'd been engaged in almost all morning. I spun Bella around, pulled her closer and up onto her toes, and laid one on her. Vaguely, I felt her hands come up and grip the elbows of my jacket; it was only a faint awareness, because almost all of my attention was focused on Bella: on her soft lips, the whisper of breath through them, the unique scent that surrounded her. When her mouth opened under mine, I was emboldened to explore it. The delicate touch of my tongue to hers-well, there was nothing delicate about the jolt that raced through both of us, breaking us apart.

A breathy whisper of "Wow" was all that Bella could muster; I couldn't even manage that much.

"Good thing you didn't do that in front of my dad," Bella said, once we'd both pulled our brains back together.

"Probably. Couldn't wait any longer to do that, though."

"How long did you wait?"

"All morning...all night...all evening...all afternoon... If my mom hadn't taught me all those manners, I would have just kicked Leah off your porch yesterday and not stopped kissing you," my declaration made Bella blush, and the way her tongue ran over her lips did nothing to stop me from wanting to put actions to words.

"And when my dad came home?"

"I dunno. Like you said, maybe it's good that we didn't find out."

"Yeah. He reacted enough this morning to that little peck. This one...he'd combusted for sure." Her additional comment, "Like I just did," was almost too soft for me to hear. I figured I hadn't been meant to, so I didn't say anything. But I definitely did a mental 'yes!'.

Once I made sure Bella had her feet under her again, we resumed our journey back to my house. We'd barely covered any ground at all before I noticed someone walking in our direction, coming out of the woods and obviously heading for the beach. It wasn't until he got closer that I realized it was Quil-but my friend was almost unrecognizable. His hair was buzzed short-not that it had been all that long in the first place. The lack of a shirt revealed a well-defined set of abs that I would have sworn under oath that he hadn't had last week. His face didn't seem as young as I remembered, and his eyes were filled with some emotion I couldn't quite decipher.

"Embry?" his voice cracked in disbelief.

_Why is he looking at me like that? __**He's**__ the one who's changed._

"Quil." I couldn't really help that my reply wasn't very friendly. It was hard just now to see him as my friend and not as the Uley-gang clone he'd somehow morphed into. "Long time no see."

"Yeah. Um. I've been...around. Busy. You know." Okay, so this verbal fumbling _was_ typical of the Quil I knew, but that was about the only familiar thing.

"'Around', huh? 'Busy'? Yeah-too busy to give a friend a call, right?"

"I'm sorry."

"Me, too. What's up with you, man? Jake, too."

More spluttered attempts at explanation. "Just...stuff."

"Like what?" I could feel my temper starting to smolder. It was almost like Bella felt it, too, because she stepped up closer to me and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. Her move caught Quil's attention and he stared at us, a clearly horrified expression taking over his entire face.

"What are you doing?"

"Going home for lunch," I retorted.

"No! You-you," his hands waved around to include everything around us.

"I-what?" What was going on? Did he think I was too geeky or awkward or something to have a girl like Bella be interested in me?

"What are you thinking? You can't-she-you-can't-"

"I'm thinking that I don't know what your problem is. And I-she-we can do whatever we want."  
>Quil's hands did their best to fist in his hair. "This-Jake-Em, you can't." His entire body-and was I crazy, or was he even taller and bulkier than I remembered?-was practically dancing in his agitation.<p>

"I-can't?" Oh, he had _not_ just said that. No one, not even one of my best friends-or former best friends, I had no idea which-had any right to tell me what to do.

"Em, you know Jake-"

"I know that he what, Quil? He never said anything about liking anyone, not that I ever heard about."

"He didn't have to! We know him too well. I saw it and I know you did, too."

"Do I really know him? Or you? I'm not a mind-reader, Quil. He never _said_ anything to anyone, so if someone else made a move while he was daydreaming, then tough cookies."

"I'm not a psychic, either," Bella added. "Why didn't he say anything to me? It's not like he's shy or anything. And now...ignoring me isn't a way I've ever heard of to say 'I like you'-more like the complete opposite."

"He's not-"

Bella didn't seem inclined to let Quil finish many sentences, any more than I had. "Yes, he is. He's ignored me just as much as he has Embry-just like you."

"He does like you, Bella. I swear. He-you-it's meant to be. Just give him a chance, please! Don't fight destiny."

"Destiny? Please!" Bella scoffed. "It doesn't work that way, Quil. People meet, get to know each other, and fall in love. Love at first sight is a book and movie myth."

"But-"

"Don't, Quil. The last guy who tried to spout that kind of a line to me abandoned me in the woods a couple months ago."

"Jake isn't like that Cullen!" Quil exclaimed, his entire body freezing up, which was worse, somehow, than the trembling.

"No, you're right-Edward moved away when he left me."

"Don't-" Quil growled, looking right at Bella for the first time since they'd started their conversation-if that was even the right word for it. He just stared for a minute and then it was like all that tension he'd been shooting off just evaporated. "Bella, he hates not being around right now, and as soon as he can, he'll come and tell you everything, okay? Please, just be patient."

"I don't have to do anything if I don't want to," Bella denied. "And if all of this 'stuff' is so important, then why can't he tell me now?"

"Sam," blurted Quil, before he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Sam? Sam Uley? What-never mind. I don't care." Then, to me, "Can we go get lunch now? I'm starving."

"Sure," I agreed. With a little tug, I pulled her closer to me and wrapped my arm around her. "Whatever my girlfriend wants is what she gets." We walked past Quil, me giving him the proverbial evil eye as we left him behind. Neither of us looked over our shoulders, but I didn't hear him moving to follow us.

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Quil POV

I walked through the woods—human—and tried to figure out how my life had spun out of control. Not even a week ago, I'd been horsing around with my two best friends; now, I only had one of them, and he was acting like he'd willingly take me down if I tried to steal away his girl. I didn't like Bella that way, and I didn't want to imprint on her.

Honestly, though, I didn't get why people were so upset. I mean, Sam is sure it's gonna be Jake who imprints on her, and Sam's the Alpha and knows what he's talking about. I'd say it's mostly Paul trying to stir stuff up and make things interesting for him to sit back and watch.

After I'd left Sam's place yesterday, I'd gone looking for my grandfather. I laid it all out to him and asked what he thought.

"The Spirits send signs, but the interpretation belongs to the one who receives them."

"So if Sam's sure that Jake will imprint on Bella, then that settles it, right?" I'd asked.

"Perhaps."

"Grandfather," I groaned. He was often spouting such vague responses.

"The Alpha has wisdom and insight. I have heard his beliefs. I have heard that young Jacob feels strongly tied to this girl. Do you?"

I shook my head. "She's nice, and it's not like being around her has been a bother; but I don't feel that strongly about her, not like Jake does. I don't want to hurt my friend like that. I don't want it to be me."

"Do not worry, my grandson. When you see her next, you will all know what is and what is not."

I was only partially reassured, but I knew from long experience that he wouldn't say anything more. At loose ends until later in the evening, I had to find something to do that would keep me out of Jake's way. What I really wanted to do was spend time with Embry, but I couldn't. I hated that I'd abandoned him this way, but I didn't have a choice in it. Once I'd gotten back to human, Sam had told me—and Jake, too, later—to keep my distance, "for his own safety". Even if I hadn't gotten that Alpha command, I wouldn't know what to say. There really wasn't any way to explain any of this without spilling secrets that I couldn't share. In the end, I'd vegged out in front of the TV until Mom called me to supper.

"I'm going to have to get used to cooking more," Mom observed.

"Our protectors must be well-fed," Grandfather agreed. I would have, too, but my mouth was full. Food demolished, I stood up to clear the table, only to drop the dishes with a clatter when a howl rose from out in the backyard.

"Gotta go!" and I bolted outside.

_Patrol time, _Paul said after I phased.

_Jake okay?_

_Guess so. Sam got him back home and human before he called me out. We're on until midnight and Jared'll take over. Oh, Sam wants you to steer clear of Jake tomorrow, too. Doesn't want you becoming the scapegoat for Jake's dad._

_Me, either._

Night patrols meant that Mom would let me sleep in for part of the morning. Then I had to spend the rest of it cleaning up my room.

"You're a wolf, not a pig," as Mom put it when I tried to avoid the chore.

Finally done, I threw a sandwich together and escaped before Mom could find anything else for me to do. It didn't fill me up, but maybe Emily would have something else for me—or maybe I'd just stay gone until Mom left for her part-time job.

Even with the misty rain, it was nice enough that I decided to take the long way and swing by the beach for a little while. I quickly wished that I hadn't.

I was almost to the beach when I caught the sound of a pair of heartbeats coming my way. I looked to see who they belonged to and I nearly choked. Leaving the beach I was heading for were none other than Embry and Bella. My eyes zeroed in on them.

_What are they doing here?_ I had time to think.

Then, Embry spun Bella around, leaned close, and _kissed her_. All I could do was stand and watch my childhood friend kissing our best friend's dream girl. Whatever they were saying to each other didn't penetrate the buzz in my head, but I could tell that Bella hadn't minded what Embry had done. They started walking again and that's when they spotted me. I focused on Embry—I wasn't about to look at Bella if I could help it. I didn't want Jake to pound me; and he would do it, no matter what Sam said.

"Embry?"

"Quil." He just stared back and me, not at all friendly. Embry didn't think much of my excuses. I could see him starting to get angry and didn't know how to stop it. It took a lot to get Em really mad and the last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt hitting me. Just then, Bella stepped closer to Embry and took his hand. It all completely clicked then, and I felt sick. They were _together._ The only really clear thought I had was a stream of profanity. Em couldn't—he just couldn't—have made a move on Bella. Impossible. She was—would be—a wolf girl. This was a shit-storm in the making. Em had to know that I knew: his eyes just dared me to say something. And I did—I had to. This had to stop before all the people I cared about got hurt.

Neither of them seemed to get that, though. They were both mad about getting dropped. Then Bella scoffed at the idea that she and Jake were meant to be together. When she compared the imprint bond to whatever she'd felt for that Cullen, I nearly lost it. I forgot all about not looking at her, stared straight into her eyes, and…nothing. No imprinting.

Relief that Jake wouldn't kill me swept through all 6 feet 3 inches of my new height. But then I forgot all about that with Embry's blatant claim of Bella as his girlfriend. I was brushed aside when they left. Embry gave me a death glare as he went by. They were long out of sight and sound before I could move again, and when I did it was to collapse in a heap.

_Hell. Fuck. Shit._ This was and would be a huge mess.

When I didn't think I'd make a fool of myself, I got to my feet and headed back home. There was no way I was going anywhere near anyone in the pack—Jake or otherwise—until I absolutely had to.


	24. Explosion

Guest: So happy that you liked the last chapter. Jake's reaction coming up.

Cara3: I hope this came soon enough. Life threw a lot at me in the last couple weeks, so writing time was really limited.

Congrats to reviewer kids2003: you were review #400 for this story on FF.

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Jake POV

Waking up this morning sucked just as much as yesterday had. I was still stuck in a strange new body, sleeping in a too-small bed, and with a lack of clothing that still fit me.

After contorting my way through a shower, where even cracking the dial as far over to 'hot' as possible only netted me a lukewarm dousing, I headed for the kitchen and breakfast. My dad was sitting at the table, but I ignored him. I was going to do my best to try and keep the promise I'd made to both Sam and myself yesterday and keep hold of my temper, and running out like I had yesterday morning couldn't always be my solution. But if my dad started talking like he had last night…

I'd gone home for dinner as ordered. But I hadn't expected things to go well, and the evening had lived up to—or rather down to—my expectations.

(flashback)

"What's been happening?" I asked. "Has Bella tried to call me?"

"I've been doing fine. Harry and Sue have looked after me."

"Bella?" I pressed.

"Yeah, she's called. You were out with the boys." Implication being that she'd called while I was wolfed out.

"How many times?"

"I didn't keep a tally-sheet, Jake. A number of times."

I started to ask if she'd stopped by, but remembered just in time that she didn't have a way to get down here right now.

"Embry?"

"He's called, too. Came over a few times, but I sent him home."

"Why?"

"It's better this way, Jake."

"Better for whom?"

"Things are different now. You're part of something big and important; Embry isn't and won't be."

"So what, I can't be friends with him anymore?" How could Dad say something like that? Just because Embry wasn't part of the pack, did that really mean we didn't have anything in common anymore? Embry and Quil and I had been friends practically from our diaper days. Was I really supposed to ignore him completely from now on?

I pushed for details and ended up stalking to my room. It only made it worse to hear what my dad had told Embry to make him leave. I didn't like the idea of keeping secrets, but I could do it. Dad didn't need to be so mean about it. And Bella…she had to be going crazy getting brushed off by my dad so much. If she could have, I knew she'd be down here trying to get to the bottom of everything. I felt terrible that she couldn't. I just knew that if we could be together again that everything would be alright.

(end flashback)

With all of that, it probably wasn't any wonder that I didn't really want to have anything to do with Dad right now. There wasn't anything I could do about Embry right now—Sam's order saw to that. Bella…well, I couldn't go see her either, but… Just then, I thought of a way that I could hopefully fix everything. I used my window as my exit again and quickly crossed the yard to my garage. If I could get Bella's truck fixed, then I'd have the perfect excuse to see her again. I'd imprint, and we'd be just the same as ever, only better.

I stepped into the garage, and caught Embry's scent; he'd been in here sometime between That Day and now. I gritted my teeth and whispered "Sorry". Surveying the tool-bench, I tried to figure out which I should use first. Picking several, I headed for Bella's truck. I didn't know my own strength anymore; my popping of the hood made the whole front end of the truck vibrate from the force of the lift. Trying to use my tools didn't go any better. My grip caused the handles to bend and the metal on the bolts to start cracking.

"I hate this," I spat. The kick of my foot against a rock—a kick that a week ago would have had me howling in pain—didn't cause so much as a twinge. I watched through narrowed eyes as the rock flew through the air like a missile before crashing into a tree. I needed a break. Normally, I'd turn to the cabinet in the garage for a soda, but a warm can of soda would just remind me of my friends, so I opted for a chilled one from the kitchen fridge and headed to get it. I stopped up short when I heard the phone ring. _Bella._

But it was her dad instead. I held my breath and listened while my dad offered some small talk before Charlie got down to his reason for calling: Bella's truck.

_"Sorry. Jake's not done with it yet."_

_"Not done with it? From what Embry said over at Harry's place this morning, it looks like Jake hasn't even touched it yet!" _Charlie Swan sounded mad; he didn't get mad.

_"He's trying, Charlie, but it's a little more complicated than he thought."_

_"So, what? Is Jake going to be able to fix it, or should I just call Dowling's and have them tow it to the shop here?"_

_"Jake hasn't given up on it, I promise. And Dowling's...Charlie, you know as well as I do that they charge an arm and a leg for their work, and a premium for replacement parts. Jake may be young, but he's good-and he's determined to work on this for Bella, so I know that he'll be persistent in tracking down any parts the old beast will need-and get them at a better price than Dowling's would offer you."_

_"So I've got your-and his-word that the truck will be fixed-and soon?"_

_"Jake will do everything he can as fast as he can. Give him a chance."_

_"Okayyyy," _Charlie drew the word out._ "But I'm going to start thinking of a Plan B. I don't want my girl getting stranded somewhere because her truck went bad again. Might need something better when she goes off to college, anyway."_

_"Probably not a bad idea. That old truck has lasted a really long time, but I guess nothing lasts forever."_

_"Guess not."_

_"I'll tell Jake we talked and get back to you."_

_"Some reason Jake can't just tell Bella directly? They're about to be seniors in high school-we shouldn't have to play the piece of string in their game of Telephone."_

_"He will if he can."_

_"And why can't he? I may be butting into my daughter's business here-but after all the stuff that's happened this year, I think I'm entitled to-so why has Jake been missing in action all this week? He been so busy staring at the guts of that truck, or looking for parts that he couldn't bother to stop by and see her or even return one of her messages?"_

_"It takes time, Charlie-"_

_"Time? How much time does it really take to figure out if it can be fixed at all, or if he knows how, or if the parts are even out there to be bought? And don't think I didn't notice how you avoided answering about Jake and Bella."_

_"He'll call her."_

_"When? Not like he's been burning up the phone lines this week like he used to do. But she isn't exactly sitting by the phone waiting for him to call anymore, either. She's got her friends to help her out if Jake can't or won't."_

_"Jake is still her friend, Charlie, and he always will be."_

_"Not acting much like it right now. What kind of friend ignores a person for a week?"_

_"He's just had stuff to deal with the last few days. Tribal business-"_

_"Don't give me that tribal business crap, Billy. We've known each other too long for that. Okay, maybe you were right in the end about the Cullen's not being the best sort of people. But how in the world can you sit there and tell me that after I just watched my daughter claw her way out of that hole she was in-and doing it with your son's help-that I should somehow be okay with Jake abandoning her just that Cullen boy did?"_

_"This is nothing like that!"_

_"You're right: Cullen at least moved out-of-state. Just forget it," Charlie kept talking without giving Billy the chance to say anything. "I don't really want to hear your excuse again; I'm not the one who should be hearing it, anyway. I've got to get back to work. Just have Jake call Bella about her truck soon, okay?"_

Later, I wouldn't be able to say how I'd held it together to the end of that conversation. But listening to my dad feed one of his best friends the same bullcrap he'd offered me…I tore out of the yard at a dead run, pounding down the road until I could cut over and make for a break in the forest. I stopped long enough to flip off my shoes and strip off my shorts, hiding it all in a convenient hollow spot in a tree.

_You okay?_ Paul asked; obviously, he was the wolf on duty at the moment.

_Just peachy._

_Yeah, I can tell._

Without meaning to, I ended up giving him a replay of what I'd overheard. For once, he didn't say anything; if he had, I probably would have tried to pound him for it.

Instead, all he said was, _Let's run it off, okay?_

I didn't say anything, just started weaving my way through the trees.

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Embry POV

It was beyond hot, the way Bella had so fiercely defended herself against that crap Quil had been spewing, and I had definitely noticed it.

"What was his deal?" Bella grimaced.

"No idea," I admitted. "Maybe he was on a trip, courtesy of some of his grandfather's herbs."

I was glad when Bella smiled. "Well, it's not going to ruin our day."

"Absolutely not," I grinned back at her. Keeping hold of Bella's hand, I started asking what she wanted to have for lunch. As usual, she said that anything I had on hand would be fine. It was great that she was fine with anything, but sometimes a guy really wanted a little bit of a hint. Lucky for me, Mom had just gone shopping, so I had plenty of options to pick from.

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Bella POV

Embry was clearly as comfortable in his kitchen as I was in mine. In short order, he pulled together a simple lunch of sandwiches, chips, leftover potato salad, and raw vegetables. Simple in terms of content if not quantity: he had several sandwiches to my one, and more of everything else, too.

We camped out in front of the TV and laughed ourselves silly at some of the people on a daytime house-hunting show.

"How shallow can you get?" I wondered. "Complaining because a house doesn't look like you want? You can always change the colors and flooring.

"Some people just aren't happy. Those places seem unbelievable compared to what's around here. And the prices…ridiculous."

I fully agreed, but it wasn't really relevant—not like either of us would be planning on becoming homeowners anytime soon. But there was something really nice in us being on the same wavelength on this, when the Cullens and I hadn't even been on the same planet.

After taking care of the dishes, Embry flopped down next to me. "So…what do you want to do?"

"Get to know each other better."

So that's what we did. Talking was so comfortable, which might have seemed strange given how reserved we both were—but it wasn't.

"Do you know much of the Makah language?" I wondered.

"Some. Mom wanted me to be proud of her—our—heritage even if we don't live there."

"Teach me how to say some things," I wasn't above wheedling.

"Alright."

Over the next few hours, Embry taught me how to say a number of things from his native language.

"?uqubisal lax?ukwy"; meant 'It's a good day today.'

"ba qi daxa nik" was 'How are you now?'

"?uy?oyksi cux dac?ol" meant 'See you later'.

"And this is my favorite: 'su?ukwanha?uksin.".

"Which means?" I asked.

"Come and eat," he laughed.

But there was one phrase he wouldn't translate for me: "ya bisapsi cux".

"Embry…"

"I'll tell you one day, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." And I would, I promised myself. Strangely, though, it didn't really bother me that Embry wasn't sharing this detail. Normally, I hated knowing that something was being kept from me. This time, however…it just gave me something to look forward to, some new layer of Embry that I'd get to discover.

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Quil POV

I managed to avoid the rest of the pack until dinnertime by dint of plowing through the posted—though often ignored—running to-do list in the Ateara home. But I could only put off the inevitable reckoning for a few hours, since a mandatory pack meeting/dinner was set for Jared's house.

_Wonder if I can plead forgetfulness and skip it?_ I wondered. A nice thought, but one he knew wouldn't work. Someone would only track him down—literally—if he tried it. I jerked when the phone rang, still not accustomed to how much more sensitive his ears were now.

"Ateara residence," I said after answering.

"This is Sam. Change of plans: pack meeting is at Jake's instead."

"Um. Okay. Why?"

"Kim's sick, so we're moving the meeting. Can you go by Jared's place and help move the food?"

"Sure."

When he got there, Paul was waiting. "C'mon, food'll get cold."

"Is Kim okay?" I glanced back over his shoulder to the tiny house.

"She will be—eventually. Jared…we'll see."

"Huh?"

Paul looked over at me; probably to make some smartass comment, but the look of honest confusion on my face deterred him. "You don't know? Well, I guess maybe no one has thought about it," he stopped, obviously thinking. "And I've gotten enough flak for opening my mouth lately, so I'm not saying anything more. You want to know, you go ask. But trust me, you don't want to ask."

"Oh. Okay." I wasn't going to pull a Jake, and ask questions I didn't really need to. If I really needed to know, I'd find out sooner or later—and later was just fine with me.

Over at the Black's house, it was like winter had arrived months early: ice cold. Jake sat as far away from his dad as he could and didn't look that way if he could help it, either. The meeting was mostly about how the patrol schedule would work once Paul, Jake, and Quil were back in school.

"Jared and I will split the day shifts and work our tribal jobs when we aren't running. The afternoon, evening, and overnight shifts will go to the three of you on a rotating basis. I expect you to get as much sleep as you can when you aren't patrolling. Attendance at school is still expected of all of you," Sam decreed.

"Yeah, can't have everyone thinking we're a gang or a cult of dropouts, now can we?" Jake asked sarcastically.

"No," Sam wasn't fazed by Jake's snideness.

"We won't let your futures be destroyed by a temporary threat," added Billy.

"Sure, sure. I mean, no more destroyed than they already are, right?"

In an obvious move to dispel the rising tension, Jared turned to me. "So what did you do today?"

Crap, just what I _didn't_ want to talk about. "Stuff around the house for my mom," was my answer. "Took a walk, too."

"Good of you to help her out, especially now," judged Jared.

"I figured that."

"So where'd you go walking?"

"Beach."

"Any hot babes?" Paul smirked. "That's one of the best things about this, my man: the ladies can't stop watching us."

"Um, not really. It was raining a little, so they might have stayed home."

"True. Girls can be funny about that."

"Most of them," and I thought about the girl who _hadn't_ stayed home. I guess I must have given off some kind of vibe, because everyone looked at me.

"Something happen at the beach?" Sam wanted to know.

"No." I wasn't lying. It hadn't been _on_ the beach, and where I was most directly concerned nothing _had_ happened.

"Why are you all twitchy now, then?" Paul wondered.

I gave up the fight to its inevitable conclusion. "I saw Bella leaving just as I got close to the beach." Okay, it was out there now.

"And…?" Jake was ramrod straight—so was everyone else.

"Nothing. Nothing happened. I didn't imprint."

Jake's sigh of relief would have made the Big Bad Wolf envious. And he wasn't the only one—everyone looked relieved.

"How did she look? Was she okay? What did she say? Did you talk to her?" The questions gushed out of Jake in a flood.

"She seemed alright." I really, really hoped I wouldn't have to answer the other questions he'd asked, but I should have known better.

"Did either of you say anything? What happened?"

Heavy sigh. It didn't look like I had any option now but to say it; I just wish I didn't feel like I was throwing my friends under the bus. "Bella's really pissed about you avoiding her like you have been. I tried telling her you'd explain when you could, but she didn't like that. She didn't buy the idea you liking her, either. She—I don't think she'll accept the imprint, at least not willingly. Said she didn't believe in soul mates anymore—not since Cullen left her and broke her heart," my last words were spoken in a whisper, but everyone heard them anyway.

"She compared me to that—that—"

I nodded miserably.

"Anything else?" Sam caught my eyes. It wasn't an Alpha command, but it might as well have been.

"Embry was there, too. He didn't really say much, but he's mad, too. They didn't stick around long."

"And that was it? Just a few glares?"

I didn't want to say anything, and the boulder in my throat made it feel like I couldn't. Part of me hated playing dumb, but if my cowardice could spare all of us what would come…

"Quil?"

"Emedtgblah."

"Try it again, and slower. We may have exceptional hearing, but _no one_ could understand that gibberish."

_Man up, Quil._ "Embry's dating Bella," I repeated, more intelligibly.

"What?"

"You're kidding!"

"Are you sure?"

"They were holding hands, he called her his girlfriend, and he kissed her. And I mean _kissed_ her."

"No!" Jake growled. His rise to his feet sent both table and chair skidding. "She's mine!"

"Jake," Sam said as my friend started moving. "Jacob. You need to calm down."

"She's mine," he repeated.

"But she doesn't know that, Jake. Neither of them does," Billy spoke quietly.

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Narrator POV

Jake didn't seem to hear him, though. He shook violently, in the manner that everyone knew presaged a phase. Sam and Paul pushed and shoved him to the door—just in time, as Jake's wild swing tore the screen door from its hinges when he went through. He threw himself forward, phasing on the fly as he reached the end of the wheelchair ramp.

For Jake's part, anything said or done after Quil had spoken the words "Embry's dating Bella" didn't register. The phrase kept repeating itself in him mind on an endless cycle, fueling his dash across the yard. With a flying leap, he bounded onto first the hood and then the roof of the truck, then leaped down without hesitation and disappeared into the trees. The rest of the pack had poured out of the house after him and phased in a similar shower of fabric remnants, putting on speed to try and catch up. Howls were already echoing through the forest.

Billy's head dropped into his hands. This was yet another blow to Jacob—and he wouldn't be alone this time. While the Quileute chief rejoiced that his friend's daughter now seemed fully recovered from her vampire exposure, he also mourned her inevitable heartbreak if she came to care deeply for Embry before she and Jacob could be reunited. Young Quil's opinion of her receptivity to the imprint was also worrying. And the boys…Billy could only hope that Sam and the others could head Jacob off before he attacked Embry in a blind rage. He had to wonder what the other teen was thinking, as it seemed he was deliberate stealing away his best friend's dream girl. And when the day came that Jacob returned the favor…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Jacob!_

_Damn you, Sam! How could this happen?_

_She doesn't know. Her choices aren't influenced by the imprint pull._

_And Embry's?_ Jacob was clearly bitter.

_I don't know. Neither do you. And you can't ask him, Jake. You need to stay away from him. He can't know about us._

_So, what? I give him free reign with my imprint? How the hell am I supposed to imprint on her if I'm never allowed to be near her?_

_Control, Jake. Remember from yesterday?_

_**I know!**__ But what about them?_

_I know you don't want them to be hurt, Jake—none of us do. We'll try…_

But both men knew that such a wish might well be futile. If Bella Swan had been unwilling to give up her vampire when Billy had urged it, would she be any more likely to listen now?

_We'll try to figure something out,_ Sam finally said. _Why don't you go get some sleep?_

_Sleep? How the hell do you think I can sleep now? I'll run._

_Fine. But remember what I said: stay away from both of them._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Those left at the Black house sat or stood in a nearly frozen state. When muscles finally let them move again, there was plenty to look at: the screen door leaning drunkenly against the ramp railing, the battered truck, and the scattered fragments of Jake's and Sam's clothes. But it was the truck that got the most attention.

"How the hell is this going to get explained?"

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AN: Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. The recent Thanksgiving holiday and past/present craziness in life and work, and Jake giving me fits… Anyway, I hope the Jake bits came out alright. And…if anyone is curious about what, exactly, Embry _didn't_ tell Bella: send me a review, and I'll send you the translation.


	25. Plans and Preparations

Gold stars go to everyone who correctly guessed what Embry told Bella but didn't translate for her. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter. You mean more than I can say. Like has been a little rough lately, so opening my inbox and seeing all those messages has been a real boost. I'm incredibly honored to have gotten 2 nominations for the Fandom Choice Awards for my Jared/Bella story "The Wolf and His Girl" (Best Romance and Best Non-Canon Pairing). I'm very thrilled and honored to have gotten a 2nd place award for Best Romance. Thanks to everyone who voted.

Lenniem: Thanks for the compliments. I'm trying to put my own twist on things, so we've got a pack who are aware of the connections between them and a Charlie who notices things. Congrats on being review #450 for this story!

Histweet: Yes, I'm continuing this. I've promised myself and my readers to never abandon a story completely. Just had some writer's block and stuff going on that kept me from writing for so long.

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From last chapter: _How the hell is this going to get explained?_

"Well, shit," Paul blew out a breath. Jared just shook his head. How indeed? Whatever problems the truck had had before...

Quil's head was buried in his hands, as if hiding would change anything. "You just _had_ to ask about my day," he muttered, obviously talking to Jared.

"How was I supposed to know that you'd seen her—them?" Jared asked defensively. Then, "Billy, any ideas on how to spin this?"

Paul snorted, "Spin this? Not many ways I can see to explain why it looks like a tree slammed down right onto the truck!"

"Think they'd buy that?" the Beta posed the question to the tribe's chief. Billy looked over at the truck, obviously considering the suggestion.

"How do you plan on managing it, really?" Paul pushed. "A tree just randomly happens to fall down, and it just happens to be on this exact spot?"

Jared smirked triumphantly. "Don't you pay attention to the weather forecast? There's supposed to be a big storm hit the coast tonight. Lots of wind and rain."

"Why would I watch the weather channel?" barked Paul. "Not like anything bothers us anymore."

"Yeah, what was I thinking?" Jared slapped his forehead theatrically. Whatever ribald retort Paul might have given was forestalled by Billy finally answering the Beta's question.

"I think they'd buy it."

Rubbing his hands together, Jared talked his idea out. "Okay. So we'll say Jake took it for a little test drive and parked it over there," he pointed, "over by that tree. We might want to do some stuff around the base of the tree to make sure it'll fall tonight."

"Like cut it?"

"No," Jared snorted, "That'd be a dead giveaway. Move that boulder and maybe some of the soil, too."

While the boys got to work, Billy sighed, eyes flicking from the trio to the woods from which his son and Sam had yet to emerge. The tree had stood here for years, and he mourned its impending loss, but knew it was the best way to cover up and explain the damage to Bella's truck. Billy's shoulders heaved in another heavy sigh, feeling a momentary sense of bitterness. Why could his son not catch a break right now? First phasing, then Quil, and now Bella and Embry.

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Embry POV

"_I'll hold you to that."_

I knew she would, too. Her determination was one of the things I liked best about her. Then again, I liked everything about her. But I wasn't going to regret my words, even if she didn't know yet what they had meant. Maybe it was a bit soon to be thinking it, much less actually saying it, but I didn't regret that, either. Time was irrelevant, as was experience.

Two things that I hoped to experience again soon were Bella's lips and her cookies. With today's language lesson over, Bella headed for the kitchen, and after a moment's hesitation, started looking through the cabinets.

"Looking for something?" I asked, not minding her inspection but wanting to help her if I could.

She answered me as she began pulling things down from their places, "I promised you more cookies, didn't I?"

"I didn't mean you had to make them today," I protested.

"I'd hate for you to go hungry," Bella countered. "Besides, I've got the time now."

"Can I help?"

"Sure," and she started giving me directions for the oven and the cookie sheets.

With the first batch of cookies in the oven and the timer set, I took advantage and pulled Bella close to me. "Thank you."

"For what? Cookies?" she laughed softly and rested her head against my chest.

"I'll always love your cookies, but that's not really what I meant. I guess it's for giving me a chance—giving _us_ a chance."

"Where's this coming from?" Bella wondered. "What Quil said earlier?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"This is about you and me, Embry. Not Jacob. I don't believe you stole me away from him—not that I'm something to be kept or stolen anyway."

"You definitely aren't," was my fervent agreement.

"I do care about him, but just as a friend—even if he is making that almost impossible right now."

"Yeah, me, too."

"Enough about him," she decided. "We've got five minutes before that batch of cookies will be done. I think there are better things we can do with the time than talk about someone else."

"Yeah?" I grinned. Then in a fast move, I pulled Bella up, sat her down on top of the table, and kissed her. Somehow our hands found their way into each other's hair, and the kiss moved from gentle to intense.

The sharp buzzing of the oven timer made us break apart, both of us panting heavily. Bella shifted her hands to my shoulders to pull herself to the edge of the table. I ended up having to catch her under the elbows—her legs didn't seem to want to work. I was guy enough to smirk inside, knowing I'd affected her so much. Bella's face flushed from more than the oven's heat as she swapped out trays of cookies.

Disregarding the temperature, I plucked a freshly-baked cookie off the tray and sampled it. "Yum…"

"How can you not burn your mouth?" she wondered.

"Maybe I did, but I'm a teenage guy. Where food is concerned, a little thing like a burned mouth really doesn't matter. Besides, a fresh cookie is worth it."

I half-expected Bella to put a little distance between us in light of what had just been going on, but she surprised me yet again and moved right back into my arms. It was probably a good thing that the oven was set on eight-minute cycles, or things would really have gotten out of hand.

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Bella POV

I felt like I was surrounded by fire, heat all around me, yet not touching me. Bracketed by Embry's arms, his hands tangling in my hair again, any thoughts of a life different from this one dissipated into nothingness and floated away. Time—anything—was meaningless.

Suddenly, though, the heat retreated and cool air swept over my flushed skin.

"Well, hello you two," Embry's mom startled me when she spoke. I surmised that Embry must have heard her coming and pulled away before we could get caught. But from the way Tiffany Call's eyes shifted between me and her son, I guessed we were busted just the same.

"Hey, Mom," Embry replied easily.

"Hi," I offered, embarrassed even though there probably wasn't a need to be.

She just smiled and looked us both over again before disappearing from the kitchen doorway. When she returned a few minutes later in different clothes, it was clear she'd gone to change out of her work uniform.

"So what have you done today?" Tiffany asked.

"We spent the morning at the beach after we saw Leah off, then came back here for lunch," Embry began.

I continued, "We watched some TV this afternoon, and Embry taught me some Makah words and phrases. And I made him some more cookies—as I apparently gave too many to the Clearwater's and not enough to him."

"Embry…" his mom chided.

Rather than say anything in his own defense, Embry just snagged a cookie and slid it into his mother's mouth.

"Mmmm," Tiffany's eyes closed in pleasure. "Alright, I don't blame you for begging your way into more of these. You're an excellent baker as well as cook, Bella."

"Thank you."

"How was your day?" Embry asked in return.

"It was alright. Nothing special, but nothing bad, either. Just a typical day at work."

"I remember those days," I commiserated. "Sometimes Newton's kept me busy and other times I was bored senseless."

"It's a good job and I'm lucky to have it. It's not always easy to find employment options on a reservation."

"Why don't you go and take it easy?" suggested Embry. "Me and Bella can handle fixing something for dinner."

"Is your dad expecting you home at a certain time?" she asked me.

"No," I checked the clock. "He's probably only just now leaving work for the day. I'll give him a call in just a bit, once he's had time to get home. I can help Embry in the meantime."

She nodded and went into the living room and turned on the TV. Embry and I moved to survey the contents of the fridge.

"You've got chicken…are there any bread crumbs or something to coat it in?"

"Um…" Embry opened a set of cabinet doors and examined the contents. We've got these Shake-N-Bake things. Would those work?"

"Perfect. For the side dishes…" He pulled out cans of green beans and mixed fruit before I could finish the thought. I'd only just started coating the pieces of chicken when Tiffany came back into the room.

"Bella, you should call your dad now. There's a big storm due to come in tonight and he may want you home pretty quick."

Embry retrieved my phone and dialed home for me. There was no answer, so I left a message on the machine and had him call the police station next.

"Hey, Nancy," I greeted the receptionist. "This is Bella. Is my dad still there?"

"He sure is, sweetie. Let me get him for you."

"Dad?"

"Bells! Where are you?"

"Still at Embry's. His mom just saw something on the news about a storm coming in tonight."

"Yeah. Supposed to be a bad one, so I'm going to need to stay here in case people get into trouble and need help. Can Embry bring you back home soon?"

"Yeah…" but I knew I didn't sound too enthusiastic about that idea—and it wasn't just that I didn't want to cut short my time with my boyfriend. I knew in the abstract that the coast of the Pacific Northwest could get some really strong storms; I'd just never experienced one during any of my childhood visits or since I'd moved back. Charlie clearly caught my ambivalence—and he wasn't the only one.

"You could see if Angela or Jessica can come and stay over," my dad suggested.

"Angela's busy tonight and Jess is going out of town with her mom tomorrow."

I must have missed something, because the next thing I knew, Embry had tugged the phone out of my hand and passed it to his mom.

"Chief Swan, this is Embry's mom, Tiffany. Bella is more than welcome to stay here for the night so that she's not home alone. Embry can take the couch tonight and Bella can use his bedroom. I've got clothes she can borrow. Embry can take her home as soon as things are clear tomorrow, or whatever works best for you and for Bella." She paused, most likely to let Charlie respond. "Alright, that sounds fine."

Phone back in my hand, I queried, "Dad?"

"It's really nice of the Call's to let you stay over."

"They're nice people," I agreed.

"Just be a good guest, Bells. And just be…good," Charlie's tone sounded almost embarrassed. In a burst of insight, I realized why. My chagrin equaled his, the more so because I knew what had been going on this afternoon. But however intense the kisses had been that Embry and I had exchanged, I knew that we were a long, long way from anything like what Charlie was worried about.

"Dad, you and Mom raised me to be a good guest. I'll be fine." Hopefully my dad could be a good cop and read between the lines of what I was saying to what I meant. "Hey, Dad, I'm going to have Embry give you his home number; I may have to shut my phone off overnight so I don't run the battery down before I get back home to my charger."

Taking the phone from me, Embry rattled off his number and then listened to whatever my dad was saying. "Sure, Charlie. We'll be in touch tomorrow once we see how things are out here, okay?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We ate in the living room while watching the news reports on the approaching storm. Afterward, Embry went outside to secure the storm shutters over the house's windows and I helped Tiffany set out supplies like lanterns and candles. When everything was ready that could be done, we played a game as a distraction before getting ready for bed.

Ever since Tiffany's offer to my dad for me to use Embry's room for the night, I'd started feeling bad. The couch was smaller than the bed, and Embry was a good bit taller and bigger than me. So when Embry brought out sheets and a pillow to make a bed on the couch, I thanked him.

"Bella, this is for me. You'll be in my room, remember?"

"You'll be a lot more comfortable on a bed where your feet aren't dangling off the end," I countered. "I'll take the couch."

"But—"

I guess I must have looked resolute, because Embry stopped trying to argue the issue.

"Okay, Bella. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Ostentatiously looking over his shoulder to make sure that we were alone, he pulled me close for a long, deep kiss. "Sweet dreams."

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AN: I didn't quite get to all the ideas I had for this chapter, but since you've been waiting patiently for a while now to get this update, so I'll use that info to start the next chapter and get this out to you now.

Thanks to readers Karebear1981, Alicefan32, xXCourageousXx, Mommyof3boys, and Nicole Reddekopp for pointing out to me that Embry isn't a wolf yet and wouldn't have made the comment about wolf healing any damage from a too-hot cookie. I've now fixed that little mistake.


	26. Storm

Embry POV

Whether she knew it or not, Bella had had the right idea in not taking my bed for the night. I was discovering that having her here in my house was distracting enough-Bella in my bed... Sleep eluded me as my mind naturally insisted on exploring that unfinished thought. In no time at all, I was sliding my hand down into my shorts and stroking my growing erection. My body suddenly felt like it was on fire, and I halted my movements to shift and yank off my shirt and bare my torso to the cooler air accompanying the approaching storm. Then my hand resumed its stroking, pulling and twisting in a rhythmic movement. Squeezing my eyes shut, fantasy replaced my hand with Bella's, but mindful of her presence only a short distance away, I clenched my lip between my teeth to stifle any noises I so badly wanted to make. Imagining my girlfriend's hands fondling me brought about a now-familiar tightening and tingling in my balls. Biting my lips near to bloody, my hips jerked up off the bed as the orgasm swept through me. My chest heaved in gasps as I tried to return to the real world, even though I'd much rather stay in that dream-state.

Rolling out of bed, I stripped and used my shirt to clean myself up. I lay back down, but sleep was even farther away for me now than it had been before. The sounds of the wind and of branches rustling were increasing-sure signs that the storm was getting closer. There was no doubt out it when a deafening crack of thunder broke right on top of the house. A whimper and thud from the direction of the living room had me on my feet and moving to investigate. Flipping the light-switch on the wall told me that we'd lost power-no big surprise with this bad of a storm-so I grabbed a flashlight instead, but didn't turn it on just yet as my eyes seemed to be seeing just fine at the moment. I debated on whether I should grab a shirt, too, and ended up grabbing it but not putting it on.

Once I was almost to the living room, I whispered, "Bella?" softly, trying not to scare her. Or at least, not to scare her any worse than the weather seemed to be doing. "Bella, you okay?"

"Yeah," she grumbled in a whisper that wasn't all that convincing.

I came up to the couch and felt my way around it, following the sound of rustling fabric. Bella was on the floor, having apparently rolled off the couch when the thunder had roared its presence. She couldn't get up because she was wrapped as thoroughly as a burrito-which was probably the reason for the embarrassment I just knew she had to be feeling right now.

"Quil's mom and grandpa put up a bunk bed in his room once-didn't last long, though: three boys, two beds...plus the whole thing of it being great to swing on and jump off of. Anyway, we were all crammed on it one night, and a storm came through...I practically brained myself on the upper bunk bed from how high I jumped from the thunder." Telling a mildly embarrassing story of my own-even if it did hurt a little to talk about my old friends-seemed to help Bella relax. I set the shirt and flashlight on the coffee table and reached down to lift Bella up and back onto the couch before settling down next to her.

"Guess the storm's here, huh?" she whispered.

"Yeah. Power's out, too."

"Does that happen a lot?"

I thought about it. "Yeah, I guess so. One of the few downsides of living here, I guess. Close to the coast, isolated… yeah, we usually lose power when there's a bad storm—but it's not like storms like this one happen all the time," I assured Bella.

In a well-timed flash of lightning, I caught Bella's weak attempt at a smile. "Don't like storms much, huh?" I guessed.

"Not really," she admitted. "We didn't have ones like this down in Phoenix very often, and there's only been one since I moved back—last spring. But that was mostly thunder…" her voice trailed off. Bella took a deep breath and continued, "The day I watched Edward's family play baseball."

"A baseball game during a thunderstorm? Were they crazy?"

Bella gave a breathy laugh, "Maybe so."

"So you're probably not ready to go back to sleep, right?"

I felt Bella's head shake a negative against my shoulder.

"Distract me?" she requested.

"Okay." The flash of a very inappropriate means of distraction was ruthlessly quashed. I really had no desire at all to become acquainted with Chief Swan's shotgun. "A story?"

"That sounds nice," Bella shifted even closer to me and rested her head against my shoulder.

"Long ago," I began, "the land near Neah Bay was flat and swampy. One day the sea ebbed away, leaving the bay dry. Four days later, the water returned, higher than any had ever seen it. The elders told everyone to run. Some ran to their canoes and floated on the water. Others ran for the mountains, chased by the flood waters all the way to the tops of the mountains, and the animals with them. In the morning, the people woke to find themselves surrounded by water—everything they had known, all their homes, everything, were gone. After four more days, the water retreated and was as it had always been. Some of the people returned and rebuilt their homes, but others were scattered." As I finished, I realized that it probably hadn't been the best story to tell, given the present circumstances. Too late now.

"A tsunami?" Bella guessed.

"That's the legend. Other stories say that the flood came because people were evil and caused an earthquake. Who knows?"

"Would you tell me another one?" She shifted so that her cheek now rested against my skin and her hand along my side. I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on a story and not on anything else.

"The Quileute have a story…

_Long since, in that respect was a sad time in the earth of the Quillayute. For days and days, a violent storm blew. Rainfall and hail then sleet and snowfall descended upon the earth. The large hailstones killed many natives. The Quillayute were forced from their sea-coast villages to the great prairie, which comprised the peak part of their land._

_In that location the tribe became lean and weak from famish. The hailstones destroyed the ferns, the camas, and the berries. The rivers covered by ice and the tribe could not fish. Violent storms swayed the sea therefore the fishermen could not go out in their canoes for deep-sea fishing. Before long, the tribe consumed all the grass and roots on the prairie for food; at that place no food was left. As children perished without nutrient, the strongest and most courageous of their fathers could do nothing. They called upon the Great Spirit for help, but no help came._

_Finally the Great Chief of the __Quillayute____met with his tribe. He was old and wise. "Take comfort, my tribe," the Chief said. "We will call again upon the Great Spirit for help. If no help comes, then we will know it is His will that we die. If it is not His will that we live, then we will die bravely, as brave Quillayute have always died. Let us talk with the Great Spirit."_

_The weak and hungry tribe sat in silence while the Chief spoke with the Great Spirit, who had looked kindly upon the Quillayute for hundreds of years._

_When his prayer had finished, the Chief turned again to his tribe. "Now we will wait for the will of the One who is wise and all-powerful."_

_The tribe waited. No one spoke. There was nothing but silence and darkness. All of a sudden, came a great noise, and flashes of lightning cut the darkness. A deep whirring sound, like colossus wings flapping, came from the place of the setting sun. All of the natives gazed toward the sky above the sea as an immense, bird-shaped beast flew towards them._

_This bird was greater than any they had ever seen. Its wings, from tip to tip, were twice as long as a war canoe. It had an immense, curved beak, and its eyes radiated like fire. The tribe saw that its large claws held a living, giant whale._

_In silence, they observed while Thunderbird – for so the bird was called by everyone -cautiously lowered the whale to the earth before them. The thunderbird flew high in the sky and returned to the thunder and lightning it had come from. Perhaps it flew back to its perch in the hunting grounds of the Great Spirit._

_Thunderbird and Whale kept the Quillayute from dying. The tribe acknowledged that the Great Spirit had answered their prayers. The tribe shall never forget that gift from Thunderbird, never forget that it ended long days of hunger and death. For on the prairie near their village are large, round stones that the grandfathers say are the hardened hailstones of that violent storm long since passed._

My voice had gotten a little shaky by the time I reached the end of this tale—my body, though, was anything but shaky. Sometime in the last few minutes, Bella's fingers had started wandering over my stomach, perhaps on purpose or perhaps not. My body didn't care, though. My balls felt as hard as those hailstones in the story; I might as well not have released early for how tight they felt right now.

"Bella," I groaned quietly. I knew this needed to stop, even though stopping was the last thing I really wanted.

Her hand shifted automatically. Unfortunately for me, it moved down and not to the side. Bella's fingers brushed up against the tip of my cock that was peeking up through the waistband of my shorts. I stiffened like I'd just been jolted by an electric prod; Bella gasped at the same time, and probably for the same reason. I didn't have to see her to know she was likely bright red right now.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I—I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay—you didn't hurt me. But—I don't think we should do anything more. I really like you—this is just so new and I—" Whatever I was trying to say wasn't coming out very well.

"I'm—" Even in the darkness, I could see Bella's head drop. I leaned forward to grab the flashlight off the coffee table and adjusted myself in my shorts in the process. Pointed away from us so we weren't blinded, the flashlight still illuminated our faces.

"Bella! It's not your fault—well, maybe it is, but in a good way. No one has ever—ever—made me feel like this. You are special, and I want to treat you that way."

"So you liked it?"

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Bella POV

Embry collapsed into the back pillows of the couch with a groan. "Oh, yeah," he answered wryly. His face flushed as much as mine had just done as he admitted, "If you'd done any more of that, we'd both have seen just how much I liked it."

Somehow, hearing that made my embarrassment fade away. I had wanted to touch Edward…well, maybe not quite like this, but he'd never let me. He hadn't _said_ anything, usually, but his golden eyes had always had a look of disappointment—like I was doing something wrong. Embry's eyes were completely different. His dark brown-black orbs were dotted with specks of fiery light. He didn't make me feel ashamed or that what I'd done hadn't been okay.

"I want…a lot of things. And I really want to be the kind of guy who deserves you, who'll make all our parents proud. I don't want to mess things up."

I knew what he meant, and I agreed with him. While it might at times feel like we'd always been "Embry and Bella", the reality was that this was only a few days old. I wasn't really ready for _more_ any more than Embry was. I'd always been so mature and responsible, and this was anything but. I hadn't heard my dad's side of the phone conversation with Embry, but I somehow suspected that "behave or else" had been part of it.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Think you can sleep now?"

I considered it. The thunder was fading away, but the wind still whistled outside. "Could you stay here?"

"Sure." Embry grabbed his shirt and pulled it on, then helped me get situated on the couch, with my head at one end and my feet tucked against his leg. After flicking the flashlight off and setting it down somewhere, Embry slouched back down. "Night, Bella."

"Goodnight."

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Embry POV

Surprisingly, the rest of the night _was_ pretty good. Having Bella next to me…her scent and the sound of her heartbeat lulled me into sleep. A sleep which I was rudely brought out of by a hand coming to rest on my head.

"Did your bedroom relocate itself?"

"The storm bothered Bella. I came out here to help her feel better." Flipping the light sheet off onto the floor, I stood up. "See, fully dressed."

Our conversation woke Bella up. "Good morning," she told both Mom and me. "Embry isn't in trouble, is he? I was a little upset from the storm and Embry coming out here helped me fall asleep."

"I'm glad he could help."

I couldn't exactly tell if Mom believed us, or if she somehow knew there was more to last night than we were saying. I'd probably find out either way eventually.

The clock on the old VCR was blinking, so it looked like our house had gotten power back. I went to my room, and Bella to the bathroom to get dressed, and my mom took care of getting breakfast ready.

"What are you planning for today?" Mom asked us.

"I don't know. I've got to call my dad," Bella answered.

After she ended the call, Bella relayed her dad's report of trees down throughout the area, and that the highway leading to Forks was still being cleared. So with Bella stuck down here until I could get her out, we ended up taking Mom's suggestion of checking with the neighbors to see if anyone needed help. Mostly that meant me doing the physical work of hauling downed branches to the edge of the street and Bella being friendly. But with the way she kept looking me over and smiling, I didn't mind.

Late in the morning, Bella's dad called her again to say that she ought to be able to make it home alright. We'd only just started back to my house when I stopped dead in my tracks, the hair standing up on the back of my neck. From around the side of one of the houses, wearing only cut-off shorts and battered sneakers, came Jacob Black and Sam Uley.

As soon as he saw me, Jake's lips pulled back in a snarl and his eyes tried to bore holes in me. For my part, I just stared right back at him.

"Jake," I heard Sam mutter. Jake seemed to ignore both Sam and me.

"Bells," he called.

On my other side, she stiffened, clenching my hand hard. She didn't move, or even try to look around me toward him.

"Would you take me home, Embry?" Bella asked.

"Sure. Don't want to keep your dad waiting," I replied. I gave Jake and Sam one last look and guided Bella down the street. Within minutes, we were on my bike and heading back toward Forks.

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AN: I have taken slight liberty with the nature of the weather of the Pacific Northwest. Windstorms as described do hit the coast of Washington state, but are generally only encountered in the fall/winter. As this story chapter takes place in August, I've advanced that time window up slightly in the interest of advancing the story plot. I hope I can be forgiven for this.


	27. After the Storm

AN: Sorry for taking so long on this. You'd think my run of recent snow days would have let me get more done. But life's been doing a knock-down and kick to me some lately, so I've had a lot on my mind. But I've finally managed to get this finished, and given you a longer than usual chapter to make up for the delay. Hope you enjoy this update. Can't wait to hear what you think.

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Jake POV (night of the storm)

I ran for a long time, trying to beat down my temper. It felt like I was being pounded by the furious surf that sometimes hit the coast. Being a wolf, my dad's lies and omissions, abandoning my friend, not being around Bella, my 'friend' stealing my girl...all of it and more kept slamming into me and I couldn't catch up, much less get ahead of any of it.

_So stop running,_ Jared advised.

_What?_

_You're caught in a cycle that keeps feeding itself. Being mad about this whole wolf thing touches all of the other stuff. Honestly, Jake, none of us would have __**chosen**__ this life-but it chose us and all the complaining in the world won't change that. If you can accept it, then I don't think you'll be anywhere near so angry and you can start dealing with all the other stuff._

Maybe Jared was right. Maybe I'd never stopped fighting against everything even once I'd gone human again.

_'Course I'm right-I'm Beta,_ he grinned mentally.

_Why?_

_'Cause I phased second and know the most after Sam._

_Sure, sure._

_I'm not saying we don't all still have bad days with all this, but we've each of us had to man up and just take what we've been given._

_And my dad?_

_It sucks-I get that. And yeah, maybe you do have a point about it being better if future wolves know in advance that it's coming. But it's been tradition, like, forever, that no one is told until it happens. Even thinking about breaking tradition is a big deal for someone like your dad. But at least you can talk to him about what's going on with you. Just think for a sec how you'd feel if you had to keep this a secret from him._

_He's smart-he'd figure it out._

_Maybe. He did see his grandpa and the rest of the last pack. You know, he probably envies you._

_**Envies me?!**_

_If the Cullens had come back a couple decades ago, it would have been his generation that phased. Maybe your friend Quil's dad would still be alive. Maybe your dad wouldn't be in a wheelchair right now. He wouldn't be watching you suffer through this; he'd be able to protect his tribe and take care of himself._

Part of me wanted to believe what Jared was telling me, but the hurt was just as strong, and the two were fighting inside me. So I focused on running. I didn't consciously think of a particular destination, just let my feet carry me.

_Jake,_ Jared warned, when he realized where I'd ended up. _Sam said to keep your distance from her, remember?_

_Would __**you**__ listen to him if you were in my place and he was making you stay away from Kim?_

_I don't know. But he's Alpha, Jake. You have to respect that, whether or not you like it._ There was a flash of something in Jared's mind, quickly buried.

_Sure, sure. _But I pushed Jared—and Sam—out of my mind to focus on Bella's house. _There's no one here, _I realized.

_Her dad's probably on duty tonight, so maybe she's staying with a friend._

_Huh?_

_Sheesh, am I the only one who pays attention to the weather forecasts?_ Jared muttered, filling me in on the storm that was on its way.

_Jared, Jake, b_o_th of you head home. We'll suspend the patrols until the storm's over_, Sam's voice cut in. We both acknowledged him and started moving. The others had phased out by the time I got back to the rez. My path the final distance to my house took me past Embry's and I stopped. He was outside, putting up storm shutters over the windows. Where once I would have headed over to help him, now I just stared.

_How dare he? _My thoughts raged. _How dare he steal her away from me?_ Unbidden, my mind replayed the scene of earlier today, what I'd seen in Quil's mind about Embry and Bella walking away from the beach, her hand tucked into his. A little thing, that really wasn't. All this summer, she'd always shied away from too much physical contact with someone else. There had to be separation on the couch, and she'd started refusing help on the stairs just as soon as she could. I'd hated it, but had tried not to push. So why was Embry—_Embry_—able to hold her hand when I never could? Any why, by everything that was holy, could he dare to kiss Bella—my Bella?

Embry hung the last shutter and turned to look at the trees, almost looking right at me, though I knew he couldn't see me. Embry took a couple steps forward, gaze shifting upward to the sky as a bolt of lightning streaked overhead. Then he reversed course and went inside his house.

The visual reminder of the storm's approach got me moving, too. Part of what Jared had said earlier really was true tonight—there was no way my dad would be able to get our house ready for the storm, and mad or not, I needed to step up there. Turned out, someone had already done our shutters, so I silently got out the storm supplies from the cabinets and put them in their usual spots around the house. I could feel Dad looking at me, and from his sighs I knew he wanted to say something, but he stayed quiet.

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After the storm, Sam rousted everyone in the pack out of our homes. As they'd planned while I'd been out running, the tree had indeed fallen down, neatly disguising the damage I'd done to Bella's truck. If I wasn't still so pissed off about everything, I might have actually been impressed with the idea what whoever-it-was had come up with. But all I could think was how this was something else that the whole wolf-thing had screwed up. Bella had loved her truck, and I'd loved that she had it, that I'd been able to fix it up and keep it running for her. Now, it was fit only for the junkyard.

Sam pulled me from my dark thoughts to go out with him and help others on the reservation that had also suffered damage from the storm. We were just finishing up at one house when something pulled me toward the front yard. Rounding the corner of the house, I saw two people walking down the street, hand-in-hand. A red haze clouded my vision when I realized it was Embry and Bella.

_Mine. Bella. Mine, _my thoughts echoed. I barely heard Sam's muttered growl of annoyance, and breathed command to stay put. So I used my eyes to do what my body couldn't: trying to glare Embry into submission like he was a wolf I considered myself superior to. But he wasn't one, and my stare just provoked a return one from him. I really wished my gaze was a laser, to cut through him and let me see Bella. I just needed to look at her and… But she stayed on the far side of Embry, and when I spoke her name, her only words were a plea for him to take her home.

My body started shaking with rage when Embry took Bella away. Sam hauled me toward the nearby woods through brute force. I phased right out of my clothes and started running again.

_Is that all you do? _Paul wondered. _Shred and run?_

_**Shut up, Paul**__, _I growled, and for some reason, he listened_._

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Bella POV (morning after the storm)

Embry insisted on walking me up to the porch, not that I really minded.

"Other than the storm, did you have a good time the last couple days?" There seemed to be something veiled in Embry's question, but whether he was asking if I regretted what had-or hadn't-happened between us last night or the run-in we'd just had with Jake, I wasn't quite sure.

"I did." It was the truth. As Embry had said, neither one of us was really ready for things to go that far physically, but he'd been perfect at saying that without it seeming like a rejection. And Jake...I loved it that Embry hadn't questioned or argued with my desire to get away-and hadn't let Jake distract him from that.

"Great."

Any awkwardness was averted by my dad coming around the side of the house dragging a tree branch. Embry jumped down off the porch and helped Charlie carry it the rest of the way to the edge of the street.

"Welcome home, Bells," Charlie said. Then, "Hey, Embry. How's things down at La Push?"

"Hi, Charlie. Things are okay. Some downed branches and stuff, shed or two that lost a roof or got smashed. Maybe some folks still without power. A big storm, but if could have been a lot worse."

"'Bout the same up here."

"Any more branches like that to move?"

"Nope. Thanks for the offer, though."

"No problem."

It was interesting to watch the interactions between my dad and my new boyfriend; interesting, and nice. Very different from how Charlie had been with Edward.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Embry's question interrupted my musings.

"Nothing really."

"Jake?"

"Nope."

"Something up with Jake?" Charlie asked.

"Saw him just before we left," Embry admitted. Him and Sam Uley. Guess you were right about him not being happy about us," he gestured between himself and me.

"What did he say?"

"Just glared. But if looks could kill..." his voice trailed off and he shrugged.

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I had a feeling Charlie was going to have more to say about Jake, but I wasn't quite ready for that. So I gratefully used the excuse of needing a shower and took time to think. I was pissed that Jake was pissed about me and Embry being together-especially since he didn't have any right to be upset. If Jake and I were exes, then maybe...no, not even then. But we weren't exes-unless ex-friends counted. That was another thing that bugged me-why Jake seemed to think he could glare at us with how he'd abandoned both Embry and me. And the way he'd acted had just been too extreme-all Embry and I had been doing was holding hands as we walked down the street. Now, if we'd been making out, like last night...  
>Remembering that-and Embry's reaction-made me regret just a little that he'd stopped things from going too far; which was a total turnaround from what I'd been thinking earlier. If he hadn't... <em>Shoot!<em> I slapped my forehead.

I rushed through the rest of my shower, threw on some clothes, and hastily called Angela.

"Ange?"

"Hey, Bella."

"Is there a good health clinic in town? I need to get a prescription refilled."

It took a moment, but then Angela said, "Ah," in an enlightened tone. "Sure. My mom and I use Dr. Dusquene. She's great." She spelled out the name and even gave me the phone number.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. So…I guess things are going well between you and Embry?"

"Yeah," I couldn't help blushing even in a phone conversation. "It's still really new, but yeah. He kinda makes me lose my head sometimes," I confessed in a whisper.

"Is that bad? Do you not want that?"

"No. Not yet. He respects us both, but…"

"'Better safe than sorry,' as the saying goes," Angela clearly knew what I meant without me having to say it.

"Have you—" I started to ask, before deciding it wasn't any of my business.

"No. Preacher's kid and all. But Mom wanted me on something once I started dating."

It had been one of my mom's few truly maternal moments, taking me to the doctor a couple years ago to get put on birth control. I hadn't been sure about it—with no boyfriend then or at all while I lived in Phoenix there hadn't seemed to be a point—though she'd insisted anyway. Maybe Renee had just been petrified at the idea of becoming a grandma in her mid-thirties—especially as she worked so hard to not look her age. So I'd gone on the pill, and gotten a refill just before I'd moved up here, which had lasted through the end of the school year. Edward had been too old-fashioned to say anything, but one of Alice's comments one time had made me think that my being on the pill had helped him be around me; it certainly wasn't like it had been needed for its designed purpose, though.

But my prescription had run out at the same time as my romance had fizzled. Being sick so long, and not having a boyfriend, had put all thoughts of a new appointment for a refill out of my mind. Now, however, I did have Embry, and with the way we seemed to react to one another…We might both be saying that we weren't ready for _that_ yet—and even mean it—but accidents could always happen. I didn't exactly know about Embry, but I wasn't looking to become a teen parent.

After thanking Angela again, I hung up and called the clinic about an appointment. Amazingly, they not only accepted Charlie's insurance, but they even had an opening this afternoon—a cancellation due to last night's storm. Another quick call arranged for Angela to give me a ride. When I came back downstairs, Charlie must've gotten tired of waiting for me. A peek out the window showed him raking up the twigs and leaves the storm had blown around. I scrawled a note telling him I'd be with Angela for a little while, and slipped out front to her car.

An hour later, I was stepping back into the house—birth control in hand—when Charlie walked out of the kitchen.

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Charlie POV

I was happy for Bells that she'd found Embry, and I really liked him for making her smile and laugh again. But I couldn't help feeling sorry for Jake, that he'd lost out on her. Maybe it was my own experience that made me sympathetic, even with all the crap that my best friend's son was pulling right now. If he ever showed his face again, maybe I could help him—but who was I kidding? Me, give love advice?

I heard the phone ringing, and ignored it at first; Bella was sure to answer it. But when it kept ringing, I ran inside, grabbing the phone off the receiver. I offered a breathless "Hello" at the same time that I saw a piece of paper on the counter.

"Hey, Chief," Billy greeted me. I'd always found it ironic that he called me by my official job title so much when he was also just as entitled to use it where his tribe was concerned.

"You all okay down there?" I asked first. Having lived her all my life, I knew well how the coast could get slammed by our storms, and parts of the reservation were low-lying enough that flooding was a real danger.

"Yeah, we're okay. Damage could have been a lot worse. A few minor injuries, but nothing Sue couldn't handle."

"That's good."

"What about Forks?"

"Some trees down, a few shattered windows. Internet's out, too."

"Same down here. And speaking of that…" Billy's voice trailed off briefly, "I really hate to say this, but you're definitely going to have to that car shopping for Bella now."

"Because…?"

"Jake spent some time working on the truck yesterday and then drove it around some to test it out. It was looking promising but…"

"But, what, Billy?" I really loved my friend, but there were times when his roundabout way of talking drove me crazy.

"One of those big trees we had in the yard came down last night."

I got the feeling I wasn't going to like where this would end up, and said so.

"You're right," Billy admitted. "The spot where Jake parked the truck was right in the path of the tree's fall. It got crushed for good. Definitely not worth the time and money to get it fixed—and honestly, I don't think it's even possible now."

"Not worth it?"

"Nope. The tree came down right on the hood and crushed it, so the engine is toast. You might get something selling it for scrap metal. Jake says there are a few places in Port Angeles that will take it. We've got someone going up in a few days that can take it along with other scrap from the reservation, and I'll see that you get whatever money the truck brings in."

Billy had ended the call as quickly as he could, but I didn't mind that too much. Something about this was making me think like a cop. I knew that Bella's "luck" could be a bit strange, but it just seemed beyond reasonable that only hours after Jake had apparently started working on Bella's truck, it would get totaled by a tree falling on it. And if one of the trees had really been at that great a risk of falling down, then why hadn't someone noticed it beforehand? The way that Billy didn't seem to want me to see the damage in person was another thing bugging me-not that the offer was a bad one, what with how it might not even have been needed if Jake had just fixed the truck to begin with. It just really seemed like Billy was trying to hide something and I didn't know if I needed to track it down or not.

I finally remembered the note from Bella. It didn't explain much, just that she was with Angela for a little while. I waited for her to come back and wondered how I'd break the news about her truck.

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Embry POV

I got home from dropping Bella off and felt that same eyes-boring-into-me sensation that I'd had last night when I was putting up the storm shutters. Turning around, I saw the reason why this time: Jake, standing with Quil at the edge of the treeline, watching. Just like earlier today, Jake's eyes bored into me, no sign of our lifelong friendship in them He seemed to be vibrating a little from the rage I could see even at this distance. None of us said anything, just stood and stared. This couldn't just be about this morning; I was sure now that Quil must have told Jake about seeing me and Bella yesterday and me dating and kissing her. Just as clearly, Jake was pissed about it, just like I'd told Charlie an hour ago. Not that it really bothered me right now. So I just locked eyes with him and waited. No way was I going to let him intimidate me or make me roll over and give in.

Quil laid a hand on his shoulder and said, "Jake, man, you know you can't-"

"Says who?" he growled.

"Jake," Quil groaned.

A little farther off, another figure emerged from the forest: Sam Uley again. "Jake, Quil, come on," he said, and turned away. With another snarl and glare, Jake stalked after him. Quil lingered for a minute, eyes and face pained. A second call of his name finally took him away.

_That was weird,_ I thought. The way Jake had tried to stare me down...how I'd heard them talking all the way across the yard... _What-_

But my mental puzzling was interrupted by my mom calling me inside.

"Yeah, Mom?"

Her response was to set a box of condoms on the table.

"What's this for? Do you think we were lying to you this morning? Do you not trust me?" The questions poured out, pushed by a sudden tide of anger rising inside me. The fact that my mom could easily have been right in assuming the worst really didn't mean much to me at this moment.

"I do believe you, Embry," she said, not reacting to my uncharacteristic display of temper, "and I do trust you. But I also understand that promises and principles can go flying out the window sometimes."

"Is that what happened with you and my dad?" I asked, even though I knew she probably wouldn't answer me this time, either, any more than she had any other time I'd asked about this forbidden subject.

"You know what I've taught you about that step in a relationship," she sidestepped-just like I'd expected. "I expect you to be responsible no matter what or when."

"Fine," I muttered, swiping up the box. "Message received."

I tossed the condoms onto my dresser. Right now I felt annoyed that Mom might not really believe me, even if she'd said she did; plus, my question and her avoidance had brought up all those buried dad-issues that I usually tried to ignore. Atypically, I let myself wallow in the negative feelings, pointless though they were. With a strangled sound I flopped down on the bed. Okay, so I couldn't do anything about my unknown absent dad or my very-much-present ex-friends, but I could handle my mom. _Really, Embry? She almost was right to doubt you. Last night could easily..._ I rolled over with a groan and repeated the noise when my nose landed in my shirt from last night-a shirt full of Bella's scent. _Yeah, maybe it will be good to have those around._ Like Mom had said minutes ago, the 'right thing' could easily be forgotten in the heat of the moment-and Bella seemed to be getting really good at making me do that forgetting.

My thoughts were starting to take me into dangerous territory again, so the ringing of my cell phone was a welcome distraction. "Hello?" I answered, not even taking the time to check the caller ID.

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Bella POV

"Hey, Embry," I replied. "How's your day been?"

"Weird," he finally answered after a pause.

Part of me didn't want to push when he seemed to not want to elaborate, but we were dating now and, _People are supposed to share about their days when they're dating someone._ Besides, it was another chance for me to contrast him with Edward if Embry answered me.

"Tell me about it?" I requested.

"Okay… Well, Jake was waiting near my house when I got back, doing that death-glare again. Quil was with him, but wasn't doing anything. That Sam Uley showed up again and told them to leave—the strange thing is that they did it. Then, once I got inside, my mom sat me down for a 'talk'—" he paused again—"and gave me a box of condoms."

My face flamed in response and sympathy—probably as embarrassed to hear this as Embry was to say it. So the least I could do was reply in kind.

"I had an appointment myself this afternoon. I'm still not saying I'm ready for that," I rushed on, "but if—when—we are…do, then I'll be okay."

"Your dad made you an appointment for _that_?" Embry spluttered.

"No!" burst out of me. "We'd've both died if he had. Charlie was embarrassed enough when he saw me walk back in the house with it afterward."

"I bet," Embry empathized. "Wait, so how'd you get there, then?"

"Angela."

"Nice of her."

"Yeah. I try not to impose on my friends, but it was an emergency."

We were both quiet, trying to decide how to change the topic of conversation.

"Do anything else today?" Embry asked.

"Talked with my dad about getting a new—or new to me—car."

"Giving up on the truck?" I heard a noise like he'd just sat up on his bed or something.

"I have to now. Billy called Charlie while I was gone. Apparently that big tree in their yard got knocked down last night. My perfect luck that my truck was ground zero for the impact. It's totaled from what Billy said."

Embry choked. "Are you kidding me? A tree took down that tank?"

"Seems like it. And right after Jake finally started to actually work on it."

He was silent for a minute. "You really believe all that?" he eventually asked. "Jake _finally _starts to work on it and just _happens_ to park it right under the _only_ tree they lose? That's almost too impossible to believe. And with how Jake's been acting today," he sighed, "I almost hate to say it, but I'd honestly almost believe that he took a sledgehammer to it himself than that all those little coincidences actually happened."

Now I was quiet. I didn't want to believe something like that about Jake, either. But my experience with the Cullens seemed to have inclined me to see and expect the unusual in everything. And Embry was right: there were an awful lot of coincidences in the story Billy had told Charlie.

"So, anyway, Charlie's taking me to Port Angeles on Saturday to do some looking around. Do you want to come? You probably know more than either of us does."

"Sure. We can do research before the trip—get an idea of what you do and don't want. You'll want to be an informed shopper so that those sales-sharks can't take advantage of you."

"Want to help me with that tomorrow?" I queried, adding a teasing postscript, "I'll make more cookies..."

"Deal."


	28. Something Doesn't Add Up

Congrats to "An Avid Reader Forever" who gave review #500 for this story on FF. You (and all of you) are amazing readers. Thank you.

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Bella POV

I probably should have expected that my friends would be over first thing in the morning to 'chat', but somehow I didn't. So Angela and Jessica's arrival at my front door caught me by surprise.

"Um, hey?"

"Hi, Bella. Girl's day." Jess bounced inside.

"Well...Embry's coming over later.

"Oooo," they teased. Predictably, I blushed.

"We'll leave when we need to," Ange promised.

I'd always been told that my face was an open book, telegraphing just about everything I thought and felt. Maybe because of that I'd never really been one to verbally share all that much, so the idea of opening up and talking about something as personal as Embry and I's relationship was a bit hard. But I really could use some advice and perspective, and I trusted both my friends to keep my secrets.

"Does your dad know where I took you yesterday?" Angela got things started.

"Yeah. He caught me when I got back here." My mouth twisted in a bit of a smirk as I thought about how he'd reacted. "You'd've thought I was trying to sneak in drugs or cigarettes or something, the way he snatched the bag. And when he realized it was my new supply of birth control pills..."

"Toxic waste," Jessica laughed. "Right up there with tampons or sanitary pads on the shopping list."

We all shared a moment of female amusement at that male horror.

"So…" drawled Jess, "you're thinking that you and Embry might…"

Cue the red face. "I—"

They both reached out and laid their hands on mine.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to show Embry how much you care and how much he means to you," Jessica assured me.

"We aren't planning—we—"

"They say it happens when it's supposed to," she continued.

"Is Embry pushing for it?" Angela questioned.

"No!" I denied. I stuttered and stammered my way through what had happened last night; a story that made both my friends squeal.

"Does your dad know that's why you got the pills?"

My reply was a shouted, "No!" More quietly, I added, "He'd lock me in my room for the rest of my life and shoot Embry."

"He'd have to catch Embry first," Jess commented slyly. "You do have that convenient tree right outside your bedroom window…"

I wasn't sure if this latest face-flame was because I knew just how often Edward had used that tree to enter my bedroom to watch me sleep, or from wondering what it would be like if Embry climbed it for a very different reason.

"My mom said that dads hate to see their daughter grow up, because they remember from first-hand experience just what teenage guys are like," Angela said.

I couldn't really argue with that. Charlie had tried to look out for me anyway, even though he rarely saw me; but after I'd moved in, and with all the stuff that had happened this summer…it was no surprise he was taking it to a new level. And now that he knew what I'd done today…well, that shotgun-threat might not be an idle one.

(flashback)

"Where'd you go, Bells?"

"Angela ran me over to the health clinic—"

"Why didn't you say you weren't feeling well when you got back? I would have taken you."

"I'm fine, Dad," I interrupted before he could get worked up any further. "I just had to get a prescription refilled."

"I didn't think you were still taking any of the medications," Charlie was confused.

"I'm not." I sighed, and then just decided to get it over with. "I got a refill on the birth control prescription I had from Phoenix."

"Birth control?!" Charlie's face got red, and the blood vessel in his temple started pulsing. "What the heck do you need with birth control? If that boy is—"

"Dad! I don't need it now, and I don't know when—or even _if_—I will. But wouldn't you rather I had it beforehand rather than thinking about it after the fact or not at all?" I was honestly amazed that I'd gotten that out without combusting, crashing through the floor, or something similar. It was also—or so I thought—showing a lot of maturity; something that many teens seemed to lack, if current TV programming could be believed. My dad didn't seem to agree, though; no doubt, he _would_ have preferred it if I never had to consider any of it.

"If he ever does anything—"

"Embry has always put me first and shown nothing but respect and consideration," I informed my father, "and I know he always will."

"He'd better," Charlie warned. I resolved to give Embry a head's-up before the next time he came over.

(end flashback)

"But he _does_ want to, right?" Jess checked.

"Yeah, I think so. Someday."

"It's good that he respects you-and himself-enough to wait. Some guys don't think with their heads. Or at least not with the one on their shoulders," she quipped.

"Jess!" exclaimed Angela.

"Well, it's true," Jess defended. "That's another reason I broke up with Mike. He was starting to push and I wasn't interested."

"Bella won't have to worry about that-Embry's not that kind of guy, right?" Angela started speaking to Jess and finished with me.

"No," I agreed. "Growing up with a single mom like he has, I guess he's a little more sensitive to that sort of thing. And even if he weren't, his mom had a talk with him yesterday." And so would my dad the next time he saw my boyfriend, I was sure.

"So what are you two going to do today?" asked Angela.

"He's going to help me start researching new cars. My truck got smashed up in that storm a couple nights ago, so I'll have to get something different."

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Narrator POV

Despite Billy's offer to handle everything, Charlie had decided to head down to La Push that morning and take a look at the truck himself. He'd have to take pictures for the insurance company anyway. It was a good thing he did. Some of the local boys were in the process of loading it onto a flatbed to get hauled away. Another couple boys were making headway in chopping the tree into smaller pieces for use, but he could still see the torn earth where the tree had been uprooted and the general idea of where it had landed.

"Hold up there," he called, already starting to walk along the side of the flatbed. As he passed one of the boys, Charlie thought he heard a muttered grumble, but he had other priorities. Stepping back to survey the front of Bella's truck, the deep indention from the tree was obvious. Everything looked exactly like what Billy had told him, so why was he feeling like he ought to be chewing these boys out for tampering with a crime-scene?

"Perfect storm of conditions," someone commented behind him. Charlie turned to see that it was Sam Uley. He held out his hand and Sam shook it firmly-Sam had been in his good books since finding Bella in the woods back in June. "Rain softened up the soil, wind rocked the tree back and forth until it just went down. Rotten luck."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, pulling Bella's camera out of his pocket and starting to take some pictures.

"Getting her something new, dealing with the insurance claim...what fun." He circled around, taking pictures from all angles, and of the tree remnants as well.

"Here's the stuff from inside," a deep voice said.

Looking up, Charlie had to do a double-take. He looked like Jake-but didn't at the same time. At least half a foot taller, bulked up body, leaner face, Jake looked a good five-or more-years older than he had only a couple weeks ago.

"Thanks. Wow, guess you really hit a growth spurt, huh?"

"Yeah," Jake's mouth twisted. "Guess I did. Where's Bells?" his attempt at casualness failed miserably.

"At home. Sleeping in a bit, I think." Charlie didn't mention that she was also staying home because Embry would be coming over, both for respect for Bella's privacy as well as compassion for Jake. It didn't seem to make a difference though.

"Is Embry going to be there?"

"I think that's their business, son. You know him; you know he's a good guy. If he makes her happy, I'm not going to say anything against it. And if you're serious about staying friends with them, I hope you'll be happy for them, too," Charlie reached out to clap Jake's shoulder in sympathy and recoiled instinctively when he felt the burning-hot skin. "Shoot, Billy! He's hot enough to fry an egg on. Need me to take him to the doctor?"

"Thanks for the offer, Charlie, but not just yet. Jake, why don't you go lie down for a while? Quil, check the medicine cabinet and see what we've got, okay?"

Without a word, Jake headed inside, Quil moving to follow him. Charlie got another jolt when he really got a good look at the other boy. Quil had changed just as drastically as Jake had. _What is the deal? _Every instinct he had was telling in that there was something strange going on, but he just didn't know what. Figuring that distance might help right now, he decided to leave. He gave the insurance agent's address to the guy who'd drive the flatbed, asking him to stop by so that the agent could certify the truck as totaled. Then he drove off. His plan to head straight home before going to the station was postponed when he saw Sue's station wagon in their driveway; obviously she and Harry had gotten back from taking Leah to college. Sue opened the door when he knocked, and smiled. "Hi, Charlie. How are you?"

"Okay, Sue. Did Leah get settled in?"

Sue stepped back to let him in and he followed her to the kitchen while she talked about their trip and how Leah was excited to be starting school and work, and reconnecting with Rachel Black.

"If you're looking for Harry, I'm sorry that you've missed him. We barely got in the door before he went off to track down the other elders and get a look at the storm damage." In reality, Sue knew full well that the primary cause of concern was actually the developing romantic tangle surrounding Bella Swan.

Charlie just nodded.

Harry knew him well-the two having been friends since childhood—and Sue had come to know a good bit about Charlie Swan herself. It wasn't long before she asked, "Something on your mind, Charlie?"

"Have you noticed strange things going on around here?" he asked.

Sue laughed. "I've got two teenagers, Charlie. Strange _is_ normal here."

"Yeah, I know, but this is more than that." He ran through the strange events of the past couple days: Jake's excessive reaction to Bella and Embry's new relationship, how he'd never worked on Bella's truck, and then the story Billy had spun him about the truck's demise, finishing up with the oddities he'd noticed about Jake and his new group of friends. "Something is just really strange about all of it," Charlie said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie saw the tight expression on Sue's face. "Teenage relationships are never easy, are they?" she offered, speaking from experience. But that didn't ease Charlie's mind any; rather, it made him think that Sue, too, knew something that she wasn't saying. "I admire Bella for being brave enough to start a new relationship after being hurt so badly-I hope that being away at college will help Leah to do the same thing. It's sad if Jacob is willing to risk two friendships out of spite, but that's his choice and no one else's. Bella should do what's right for her, and not worry about anything else. And thanks for letting me know about Jake not seeming well; I'll go check him out. The last thing we want is to start the school year with something going around."

They exchanged goodbyes and Charlie headed for work. Sue didn't immediately head for the Black's, though. She unpacked, started the laundry, and thought.

_Foolish old men_, she thought. _Thinking a story like that would fool a police chief._ For being an outsider, Charlie Swan had sure noticed quite a lot. Granted, he'd lived here his entire life, and grown up with the sons of La Push's leading families.

_Would he know any of the stories?_ She wondered. Possibly: hanging around Billy, Harry, and Quil IV, Charlie probably would have heard the stories that the young ones in the tribe learned but didn't believe. But even for a smart cop, it was a huge leap from where Charlie was at now to the truth behind the legends.

Sue also wondered if Bella Swan might be more of a concern. Being involved with the Cullen Coven like she had been, how much might they have told her? And if she was anywhere near as smart as her father, Bella might also be noticing quite a bit on her own. Or at least she might if she spent any time around Jake or any of the others. But from what Charlie had just said, it really sounded like spending time around anyone in the pack—not that she knew to call it that—was the last thing Bella wanted. But if she didn't, then how would Jacob have the opportunity to imprint on her. _Will he, if and when he does actually see her again?_ She pondered the stunning thought. Sam had been positive all those months ago that Bella was a future imprint. When it wasn't Paul, it had left only Jake in everyone's minds until Quil had also phased. His mother, Joy, had been the first to ask, "Why Jake? Why not Quil?" Only, it _wasn't_ Quil, which truly left only Jacob. So why was she worrying now, and for the past few hours?

Sue rubbed her fingers around her temples to ward off a headache. More and more, it all seemed like a big mess. For all that it was supposed to bring the wolf and his perfect mate together—to give them peace, comfort, strength, and be the ideal mother of the next generation of pups—imprinting often seemed to cause more problems than it solved. If Bella came to love Embry, and he her, then an imprinting between Bella and Jacob would be disastrous. Once again, she'd be ripped away from someone she loved, all but forced into a life-long relationship with someone she didn't love that way. Would an outsider like Bella see the imprinting as a blessing, or a life sentence? From what Sam had shared on the phone with Harry last night—and Harry had shared with her—Bella had been only feet away from Jacob, and yet hadn't wanted to look his way or stay near him.

With Emily, she'd had a difficult home life growing up—something all too common for native children. So naturally, she'd wanted an escape from that world, to have a loving and stable family, someone to love her and care for her. Was that what had pulled Sam to her at that peninsular tribal gathering? The Alpha needing a mate to protect and tend to—something that strong, independent Leah would have strangled him for trying?

Kim had had a crush on Jared for years—and all the while he hadn't noticed she even existed. And no sooner had she come back to La Push from the exchange program her parents had pushed her into doing, than she'd met and captured Jared. Had she wanted a tie to La Push that nothing could break?ll

If so, both girls now had exactly what they wanted. But what did Bella want? And were they things that Jacob, new wolf and likely future Alpha, could give her? Should he be the one giving them? Sue was glad that her own daughter now had the chance to find and make the life she'd always dreamed of, with the whole world at her fingertips. All Sue could think was that Joy had been right about this, too: Bella didn't deserve to have her choices taken away from her.

_Gah!_ Sick of knotted questions with no answers, Sue made sure her house was in order and left to go find out what exactly what was going on and what was being done about it.

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Bella POV

After Angela and Jessica left, I tried to send an email to Leah asking how she liked being in Pullman so far and to tell her about me and Embry. But our internet was still down, so I settled for sending her a short text asking her to call me tonight to talk. Just then, Embry showed up. No sooner had I let him in the house, than he pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

"Good morning to you, too," I managed, once he'd let me go.

"It most certainly is," he agreed. "So what's the plan?"

"Our internet is down, so I'm not sure."

"The grocery store might have a free magazine or ads, and there's always the library," he teased about our first date.

"Sure."

Our first stop was the local Thriftway, where Embry was right about the ad booklets. The library's internet was also down—it was something of a town-wide issue, apparently—but they did have magazines. Embry got the library staff to give us some paper and pens, and he helped me make lists of things I did and didn't want in a new car. He kept me pretty entertained, considering that the topic wasn't one I was really interested in. Embry had me right up against him as we wrote down the things I absolutely had to have, and the things I wanted if I could get them. Everything we looked at helped us come up with a nice list of car options to check out in Port Angeles this coming weekend. Even though the shopping gene—for anything other than household stuff—seemed to have skipped me entirely, I was looking forward to this trip, even if it would be a little awkward being with Embry with my dad there watching.

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Jake POV

I woke up with a new resolve to really work on things. I absolutely had to get a handle on myself and all the stuff going on, because being away from Bella any long was just not an option. So I tried a little small talk with my dad, who smiled in relief.

The guys came over to help get Bella's truck's carcass loaded onto a flatbed for its final journey to the Port Angeles scrapyard. The idea was to get it gone ASAP, but that didn't happen before Charlie showed up. He was in full cop mode, looking over the whole truck and not saying much. He had a good poker face, so I couldn't quite tell what he thought of the manufactured destruction-by-tree scene the pack had set.

After he'd left, I retreated to the private sanctuary of my garage to think about how much I'd nearly screwed things up today. If I'd been smart, I'd have stayed hidden in the house; Charlie had nearly fallen over when he'd seen how much I'd changed since he'd last seen me, and again when he'd touched my arm and felt my new wolfy temperature.

_The rest of the day's got to be better, right?_ Wrong. It was only now that I realized I'd done something else pretty dumb: I'd handed all of Bella's stuff from inside the truck to her dad to take home for her. If I'd been using my brain, I would have kept it all and used it as an excuse to drop by her house, see her, and imprint on her and finally have something good in my life again.

But I soon was handed another excuse that was almost as good: the power outage we'd had because of the storm had meant that our perishables in the fridge had had to be tossed out—my dad's insulin having taken priority in the small portable cooler. And since the rez store had also lost power, I'd need to go to the store in Forks to resupply. So I'd just _happen_ to swing by Bella's; with any luck, I'd find her alone.

Luck, however, _wasn't_ with me. Bella wasn't at her house at all—I caught Embry's scent and knew she had to be with him. What I really wanted to do was hunt them down; I would have done it if not for Sam's Alpha order and the smidgen of common sense I was trying to listen to about it not being a good idea. I carried on with the other part of the plan and headed for the grocery store. It was there that I got a double whammy: the mingled scents of Bella and Embry that meant they'd been here not too long ago, and the echoing howls from out in the forest.

_Shit!_ I thought. I spun my Rabbit around and sped toward the outskirts of town. Dumping my car in the first convenient hiding spot, I took a few precious seconds to strip my clothes off before phasing.

_What's going on?_ I asked. Instantly, the minds of the others were open to me.

_They're back!_

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AN: Yes, I know, I'm terribly mean to be leaving this cliffie. Read and review, and I'll hopefully get lots of inspiration for the next chapter and be able to have it up soon.


	29. Burn

Embry POV

It made me smile to see that Bella was having a good time coming up with a list of new car options, even though cars weren't her favorite thing. I was a little surprised at how much I knew about them just from hanging out with Jake while growing up. Having Bella look to me for advice was pretty ego-boosting.

It mostly made up for the whispers that I kept catching bits of. I wasn't sure that Bella noticed, but the guys from the grocery store a while back were here in the library along with a few other kids. If they hadn't liked me way back then, they really didn't like me now. The way Bella and I were sitting was pretty darn obvious that we were a couple now.

They probably thought they were being quiet—and I didn't know how I was hearing them, any more than I'd known with Jake and Quil the other day—but what they were muttering…to hear myself called a "muck" or a "salmon cruncher" was beyond insulting and made my blood start to boil. But it helped to breathe deeply—maybe because it meant I was breathing in Bella's scent. She was more important to me than anything that those idiots could say. Still, it might be time to take a break. That itch between my shoulder blades was starting to bug me.

"Think we've gotten enough done for now?" I asked Bella.

"I guess so. We've got enough to get started looking at. Dad will probably want to look this list over and give his opinions, too. And…" she looked up at me with a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "I seem to recall that I owe you some cookies."

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Bella POV

Embry might have thought I didn't notice, but I did get the feeling that something—or maybe someone—was bothering him. What I wasn't sure about was why. Was it my typical tendency of attracting the attention of guys whether I wanted it or not, or was Angela right about how some people would view our mixed-race relationship? Either way, I was eager to agree when Embry asked about leaving the library.

While I got started pulling together the ingredients for the chocolate chip peanut butter chip cookies that he requested, I put Embry to work chopping vegetables.

"Veggies in the cookies?" he inquired dubiously.

"No," I smirked. "That's for dinner. Entrée," I interrupted myself. Abandoning the cookie ingredients, I dashed to the freezer to pull out a ziplock bag with fish from one of my dad's recent trips-which, thankfully, Sue Clearwater had skinned and deboned. Setting the prepped fish in a bowl of lukewarm water to thaw, I quickly made a marinade, and then returned to cookie-making.

"Have I told you lately that you're amazing?" Embry asked me.

"No, I don't think so. Am I?"

He laid down his knife, stepped behind me, and wrapped his arms around me. Bending down, he whispered, "You are," in my ear before dipping his head lower to rest in the crook of my neck. As tall as he was, it had to be uncomfortable to be contorted over like that, but Embry didn't seem to mind. He just stayed where he was, his breathing the only sound in the kitchen. We stayed like that for a while, and might not have moved for even longer if I hadn't twitched involuntarily from the internal tingling that Embry's exhalations across my skin evoked.

"Sorry," he apologized-though he didn't sound particularly regretful.

"I liked it," I admitted, "it just tickled a little bit."

"Then in that case…" in a fast move, he swooped me up and set me down on the one bare spot of kitchen counter. It put me almost at his height, and Embry used it to advantage to pull me against him and kiss me the way that I was coming to be addicted to. Time seemed completely irrelevant when compared to Embry's lips on mine. His tongue traced the line of my lips, which opened automatically. Embry took advantage, stroking his tongue into my mouth. I had only enough time to think, _"So this is what they meant,"_ before thought became impossible. Sensations pulsed through me and fire raced along my skin.

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Embry POV

For all that I—and Bella—had been saying we didn't want to rush into anything, I was starting to wonder if it was a fight I—we—had any chance of winning. The more time I spent with Bella, the more I wanted _more_ and the more my heart, mind, and body seemed to demand more. And from the way Bella unconsciously pressed even closer against me, it seemed like she felt the same way.

My hands seemed disconnected from my brain, and traced along her sides, daring to dip under the hem of her shirt to stroke against her bare skin. I felt, more than heard, her moan softly, and couldn't help replying—especially not when her fingers and tongue started imitating mine. The world seemed to be getting hotter-not the blood-boiling heat of anger, but rather a transforming and empowering warmth.

The necessity of breathing finally broke our lip-lock. My head tilted and my lips traced a path down her neck to the juncture with her shoulder. Bella's own head tipped away to give me more access. Before long, I drew back in satisfaction to look at the hickey I'd placed on her skin. It might be a little caveman-ish of me, but I wanted everyone to know that she was mine and I was hers.

Bella caught my self-satisfied expression and queried, "What's that for?"

"I'd say I'm sorry," I reached to touch the mark, "but I'm not."

"You might be if my dad sees that," she replied. "I think I better change my shirt before he comes home and notices." Bella scooted toward the edge of the counter, preparatory to jumping down. But her hand slipped, and flailed for something to use to catch her balance. I kept her from falling, but her hand knocked the bag of flour off the counter. It hit the floor and exploded in a cloud of white dust, covering both of us. "Oops. Looks like I'm not the only one who needs to change. I can give you something of my dad's to wear and I'll throw your stuff in the wash with mine."

"Nice of you," I said, in a deep tone that made her visibly shiver.

I followed her upstairs and waited in the hall while she went into her dad's room, returning with a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. We went in separate directions, Bella to her room and me into the bathroom, to change. Bella's dad's sweatpants fit okay, but the shirt was too tight. Clearly, my old jacket wasn't the only thing too small for me anymore. I wondered what Bella would say if I walked out of the bathroom shirtless and decided to find out.

"Did you not like the shirt?" she asked.

"Too small."

Bella surveyed me carefully. "Well…you are a lot buffer than Charlie is, so I guess that makes sense." And then, the way I'd hoped she would but hadn't been sure she would, Bella walked up to me and ran her hands up from my stomach, across my chest, and to my shoulders, spreading a wave of heat over me. "Definitely studly."

Taking the risk of playing with fire, my own hands moved along her arms and over shoulders left bare by the strappy top she'd changed into. Unable to resist, I leaned down and gave her a new hickey to match the first, just on the other side of her neck.

"Let me guess, you're not sorry for this one, either, right?" Bella murmured.

"Well…"

Bella went up on tiptoe and her arms wrapped around my neck. Pressed up against me like this, she couldn't help feeling exactly how not-sorry I was right now. Her head tilted back enough for me to see a wicked grin cross her face, and she _squirmed._

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Bella POV

The rational part of my mind couldn't believe I was doing this. Had it really been only the night before last that I'd practically incinerated from embarrassment when I'd accidentally touched the proof of Embry's desire for me? And now I was deliberately inciting it? Perhaps the bigger question might be _why_ was I doing it? Teenage recklessness? A desire to see what would happen if I pushed Embry the way I'd tried—and failed—to push Edward?

Involuntarily, Embry bucked against me, transferring a flash of heat. His head banged back against the wall and my linked hands released from around his neck sending me sliding down his body to the floor. I started to feel bad, worrying that I'd taken things too far, when we'd both said from the beginning that we didn't want to rush things.

"Should I say I'm sorry?" I asked, meaning it.

Embry gave me a weak grin. "You're not really sorry any more than I was."

"No…" I confessed.

"Hey," his long arm reached out to tap my chin. "I like knowing you want me as much as I want you. And I _do_ want you. There's a big part of me that doesn't want to remember that your dad could come home at any time and catch us. If it weren't for that, we'd be in your room right now. I think. Maybe." His skin flushed, but Embry met my eyes squarely and honesty shone in his.

"Maybe we'd better go back downstairs then," I suggested. I grabbed all of our floury clothes—and a shirt to go over my camisole—and led the way back down to the kitchen. After getting the washer started, we companionably started making cookies until the fish was ready to go in the marinade. Fortunately for us, the laundry cycle finished before Charlie got home, so he didn't get an eyeful of my boyfriend's chest. My dad didn't really react much to having my boyfriend here again for dinner.

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Jake POV

_Shit!_ I thought. I spun my Rabbit around and sped toward the outskirts of town. Dumping my car in the first convenient hiding spot, I took a few precious seconds to strip my clothes off before phasing.

_What's going on?_ I asked. Instantly, the minds of the others were open to me.

_They're back!_

_They who?_

_Vamps._

_Damn it. An idiot could figure that out! Which ones? Cullen, Red and Dread, or someone else?_

_Don't know. Must be new ones._

_No, there's Dreadlocks._

Immediately, the pack sprang into action, shifting into a wide arc to envelop our prey. At least, that was the plan. The leeches, though, seemed to have their own ideas. The new ones made a sharp turn and put on speed. Dreadlocks bolted the complete opposite direction.

_Damn it,_ Sam snarled. _Paul, Jake, get him. Jared and Quil, you're with me. Get to the imprints now._

Normally the cautious one when it came to strategic decisions, Jared wasn't arguing with the order to bolt to La Push and protect Kim and Emily, even if it did mean the pack was splitting up to deal with both threats. Paul and I put on speed to go after Dreadlocks, while the rest of the pack headed for home. Our guy didn't seem to be bothered by the loss of his arm the last time we'd met. He tore through the forest, trying to outrun us again.

_Not gonna happen, right?_ Paul thought at me.

_Nope._

_Where's he going?_

_Keeps curving around to the right, like he's trying to get to…Forks._ _Bella!_ I put it together and howled.

_Focus_, more than one mind thought at me.

I put on speed, cutting him off yet again. With a hiss that grated in our ears, he split away again, heading north and away from both the reservation and Forks.

_Damn him_, Paul grumbled long minutes later. This damned leech kept going into the trees, or up sheer cliff faces—any and every natural feature that he could use to advantage but that only slowed us down because we couldn't do likewise. Finally, he took to the water, leaving us stranded on shore.

_Is that-?_ I wondered, seeing something bright in the distance.

Paul squinted and considered. _Yeah, I think that's her. Damn it. Sam, they're gone. Need any help?_

_Help?_ Quil cut in, insulted.

_We're fine,_ Sam spoke over my friend. _Didn't make it much over halfway to the treaty-line before we caught them. Easy to kill them—didn't seem like they even knew how to put up a fight._

_Coming home then,_ reported Paul.

_Hey, Sam—_I started to say.

_I heard,_ he continued before I had the chance. _Maybe you're right—I just don't know. She certainly_ _attracted the Cullens to her easily enough—_

_They pulled her in,_ I countered. Bella had been interested in spending time with me in the beginning, before they'd butted in and stolen her away.

_Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe, _Paul offered.

_-So if she's a magnet for some of them, then maybe she's a magnet for more._

_Then we've got to make sure that doesn't happen,_ was my vow.

_We will, and it won't,_ Sam agreed.

_I need to talk to Bella, Sam. I need her to be safe_, I begged_._

_And I need to see that you can handle it, Jake,_ he replied. _She's safe enough for now if she stays around people in town; we'll be on patrol to keep any bloodsuckers from getting close to her, I swear it._

_But—_

_Two days ago, you stomped the hell out of her truck, Jake. I get that the idea of her being with Embry right now pisses you off. But remember what I said: I don't like keeping you away from Bella, but I'm not about to let you hurt her, either, if you lose your temper again. Keep up like you have today, and I think you'll be ready soon._

_What about calling her? Can I do that?_

_Or use your dads as go-betweens to pass notes? _Paul snorted, and Quil couldn't help laughing.

_Shut up! _I snarled at both of them.

_Okay, _Sam finally decided. _You can call her._

_Better have a good apology ready_, teased Paul. And he ran for home before I could take a swipe at him.

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Bella POV

"Hey, Bella!" Leah's voice practically bounced out of the phone's speaker. "How's life back in the thriving metropolis of Forks?"

"Ha-ha," I laughed. "Very funny. About like normal, I guess. How's Pullman?"

Leah had gotten my message and called me not long after Embry had left for the night. She talked excitedly for quite a while about getting settled in her new place, reconnecting with Rachel Black, her new job, the campus, and a lot more, before finally running out of steam.

"So how's Embry?" she fished.

"Good. Great. Sexy," I said the last word in a whisper.

"Oh-ho! Okay, girlfriend, details."

Blushing most of the way through it, I did just that, telling her about pretty much everything: the beach day, Quil's reaction and how different he was now, the sleepover at Embry's, the storm and the damage to my truck that I didn't believe were related, today…

"I just don't know what I'm doing," I finished. "I—we—both said that we aren't ready for more, and yet 'more' is all I seem to want."

"And Embry?"

Remembering how he'd reacted to me touching him, I knew there was no doubting him. "Oh, yeah," I breathed. It was true, and another thing I really liked about him. Until I'd started experiencing it in the last week or so, I hadn't realized what an emotional boost it was to know that a guy was interested in me and really wanted me. Oh, sure, Edward had been interested, in a way, but not really in _that_ way.

"If you both want it, then I'd say to go for it, Bella."

My protest was automatic, "But it's crazy. It's too soon. Only a week."

"Does it feel wrong? And I'm asking your heart, not your head. Remember, you're seventeen, not forty."

As usual, my innate honesty compelled the truthful answer. "It feels right. I don't know why, but it does. But I don't know what to do with this, Leah. My mom always called me her 'middle aged child'. I don't know how to act like a teenager, not really."

Leah laughed. "Nobody ever does, not really. Just trust your instincts, and trust Embry. I have a feeling he'll look after both of you. And not just _that_ way."

Naturally, my face flamed again in awareness of what she meant.

"As for the rest of it, just keep your distance. I don't know why, but too many people down at La Push think that the sun rises and sets by Sam Uley's word. If he's gotten to Jake and Quil now, maybe you and Embry should stay clear as much as you can."

"Oh, I think we will."

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And for the rest of the week, we did exactly that. Even though Angela had advised me earlier that we should do things on Embry's home ground, La Push was the last place either of us wanted to spend much time right now. He didn't say much about it, but from the little he did mention, I knew that Jake and the others were watching and disapproving. So we did things at my house, or Angela's, or Jessica's.

The thought I'd had recently, of how Edward had taken something away from me, with how he'd kept pushing me away anytime I'd tried to get close, somehow awoke in me the desire to take something away from him. I knew, rationally, that it was petty, and a little pointless given that he wasn't even here anymore, but I still wanted to. It took me a while to think of how I could do it. But then I remembered. I remembered a place that had been just for him, a place he'd taken me to once. If I could manage to find it again…

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Embry POV

I tried to keep quiet about things, but I somehow got the feeling that both Bella and my mom saw more than I wanted them to. Whether it was by Sam's order or something else, Jake was back to keeping his distance again—well, sort-of. He wasn't getting close to me, or talking, but more than once I saw him lurking around, just staring at me with dark eyes and newly-bulked-up arms crossed over his usually-bare muscled chest. It wasn't just Jake, either. I got some dirty looks from Jared Cameron when I went into his family's store one evening to get some last-minute ingredients for the dinner Mom was cooking.

"Don't be an idiot, Call. Leave the girl alone," he muttered.

"Shut the hell up," I retorted, slapping the money down on the counter. "Where the hell do you get off thinking you can tell me what to do?"

"It's for your own good," he said, collecting my money and slamming my change down on the counter in turn.

"I think I'll be the judge of what's good for me, not you, Cameron." And with that, I took my bag of groceries and stalked toward the door. Paul Lahote came in just as I got close. He gave me a funny look for a second, but stepped aside so I could leave. As I cleared the store's porch, I heard him ask Jared what was going on, and then say, "You off yet? Sam and the others will be waiting."

By the end of the week, it almost seemed like the attitude of Jake and the others was starting to rub off on others around the reservation, like my outsider origins were finally making me suspect somehow. So even though I'd planned to not let them run Bella and me off, I really didn't want to hang out here. Fortunately, neither my mom, nor Bella and her friends, minded me spending most of my time in Forks. I was really glad that I'd be spending half of this weekend hours away from the reservation, car shopping in Port Angeles.

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AN: Sorry for the delay. Busy times with family and some writer's block thrown in to boot. Thanks again MC for helping with story idea bouncing.

Guest: It's coming soon. I don't think that this Bella is quite as worried about Jake as canon Bella would have been (especially not with everything he's said and done), but she is likely compassionate enough that she won't want to hurt people even if they've hurt her.

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The racial slurs Embry overheard came from the Racial Slurs Database website. **In no way do I condone the use of derogatory terms toward Native Americans or any other ethnic group.


	30. Exploration

LilMonstrPixi: Hope you enjoyed the last one.

Guest: Thank you, and I will. I've promised myself, and my readers, to never leave unfinished a story that I start to write and post. Might take a while, but every story I do will be marked 'complete'.

FYI: This chapter does deserve its rating. Fans, AC, and icy drinks may be advised.

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Jake POV

Even though I'd been dying to do this for a week now, I was nervous to actually pick up the phone and call. I knew Bella had to be pissed at me from the week of silence, and adding the truck on top of it…

_Man up, Jake,_ I told myself, and dialed Bella's cell number from memory. My heart leapt when I heard her voice, but it was only a recording telling me to leave a message. It wasn't the way I wanted to reconnect, but maybe she was in the shower, or cleaning downstairs, or… My first thought was to leave a cheerful message picking up where we'd left off. Then I remembered I needed to apologize before anything else, and did that instead.

**Um, hey, Bells. Um, well, sorry about the truck. Damn tree, damn storm, damn…me, I guess. Anyway, I'm sorry I've been too busy to hang out this week. But I think things are getting better now, so maybe we can do something? Yeah, so, um, call me back, okay?**

Lame, I know, but I'd do better when she called me back. The only problem with that plan was: she didn't. I called again and again, hoping she'd see that I was finally trying to bridge the gulf of silence. With having two older sisters, I knew that girls had to get stuff out when they were upset. Telling them that it didn't matter or to get over it only got a guy into a world of hurt. So I'd let Bella do what she needed to-for now-and then we'd be fine. When calling her phone didn't work, I moved on to trying the house phone. Hopefully, I'd get Charlie answering and could play on him knowing me all my life to encourage Bella to hear me out. But calling that number only got me Charlie's serious-sounding message.

It was starting to get me frustrated.

_Breathe, Jake. Prove to Sam that you're under control. Bella's probably just venting some frustration at what happened to her this week._

For that matter, Charlie probably wasn't any happier with me-or Dad-than Bella was. But I wasn't happy with them, either, so it all balanced out, right?

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Narrator POV

In two houses about a half-hour apart, two teenagers both settled down for a good night's sleep. Or, at least they _tried _to. Ever since their cookie-making canoodling, both Bella and Embry had found that sleep was a little harder to come by than it had been. Night after night, it seemed that the dreams of each only intensified, making the musings of both about the seeming inevitability of a major relationship step appear quite foresightful.

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Embry POV:

_Fingertips lightly trailed up my arm and down my chest. My stomach muscles contracted as her touch sent pulses of lightning to every last nerve ending. And then...those fingers kept going. I was rock hard instantly, silently begging her not to stop. She didn't, gently stroking me. Caress after caress worked me up more and more. My hands somehow found the strength to rise up and close around Bella's bare and perfect breasts. Her head rolled as I started to circle her rosy nipples with my fingers, alternating with massaging strokes from the palms of my hands. She more than got back at me for it, tightening her grip around me and increasing the pressure of her twists and pulls from my base all the way to my tip._

_"B-b-Bella!" Her name tore out of my throat as my length jerked within her grasp. My head dug into my pillow, my hips lifted off the bed, and my body convulsed as a stream of white liquid spurted out of my cock to spatter onto my stomach. Bella's other hand reached out to swipe a finger through it and carry my essence to her mouth. Seeing her taste me sparked even more eruptions until I had to be completely drained._

I jerked awake, once again covered in the evidence of my release. I'd fortunately learned to keep a stash of washrags in one drawer and cleaned up with the ease of practice. Sleep was going to elude me for a while now, if not the rest of what remained of the night.

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Bella POV:

_The hot Florida sun beat down on my head and shoulders. I reached for the bottle of oil and poured some into my hands. Then I leaned down over my surfboard and started rubbing the oil into its surface. But that surface seemed to give under the weight of my hands, and I looked down to see that I was straddling a tall russet...Embry, and that my fingers were splayed out across his chest. His dark eyes burned into me as his voice purred, "More." I couldn't help but do as commanded, pouring more oil straight onto his skin and began spreading it out. Embry's eyes drifted shut now and his chest lifted in search of more contact with me. I gasped with an electric shock as something brushed against my cloth-covered core_,_ instantly producing a rush of moisture. His nostrils flared, and he pulled me down onto him. The contact of bare skin on skin made my eyes go wide in shock when I realized I'd been massaging him in a skimpy bikini_. _Embry's hands returned the favor to me, stroking up and down my back. I didn't realize he'd untied my bikini top until it fell loose down my sides. "Up," he whispered, and lifted me so that his lips could claim mine fiercely. The touch of his work-roughened hands on my breasts parted my lips in a sighing gasp, and Embry began to conquer my mouth_. _My body began to press down seeking more of that incredible pressure where I most wanted and needed it._

My eyes flew open when a sudden loud noise startled me out of-a dream. _Damn it,_ my thoughts groaned when I realized that the images and sensations flooding my mind and body had only been a dream. Well, they might have been imaginary, but their effect on me definitely wasn't. My muscles were tense and I felt...frustrated. I wasn't quite sure what to do about it, but I'd have to think of something. Well, if dream-Embry's touch had gotten me into this state, maybe my own could help me out. My fingers tentatively delved under the waistband of my sleep shorts. As they moved down, I realized just how wet my underwear was. So, carefully concealed by my bedspread, I pushed my shorts and panties down my legs and kicked them off. I didn't know what to do, but maybe my dream-Embry could help me. I closed my eyes and fantasized that it was him touching me When my fingers stroked a particular spot between my legs, my body flailed and I felt like I was shattering into pieces in the most incredible way possible.

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I was somehow-oddly-a little nervous to see Embry today for the 'Great Swan Car Shopping Expedition'-probably, okay certainly, because of the dream I'd had last night/this morning. Would I be able to look him in the eyes without looking like a tomato only hours after I'd used fantasies of him while touching myself?

Waiting out on the front porch for Embry to arrive, I wondered if I'd actually dare to say anything to him, and what it would be if I did. Embry pulled up on his bike and my heart started to race.

"Hey, Bella," Embry's voice was quieter than usual.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, leaning close to hug him. He hugged me back, but not in the demanding way that I loved. "What?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just...It's harder than I thought it would be, you know? This whole 'taking it slow' thing. My imagination is going to get me an up-close and personal interview with your dad's shotgun."

_His imagination?_ Could Embry be having dreams anything like mine?

"I think I know what you mean," I confessed. "My dreams...well, Dad would lock me up until I was 30 if he knew what my dreams have been like."

"Dreams? Good dreams?"

"I guess-yes. At least until I woke up and realized they _were_ dreams. Then it was just frustrating." My cheeks pinked up at even this veiled reference to the nature of my dreams.

Embry's eyes widened when he figured out what I meant. "I know _exactly_ what you mean. So...what now?"

I don't know," my voice was sober. "I don't know what to do about this. Edward never gave me more than a quick peck of a kiss-never like what I wanted-and he shot down any thought I might have had about _more_. I want...I don't know what I want, exactly."

He took my hands and started tracing his fingers over the backs. "Do you like your dreams?"

"Yeah," I admitted. Hadn't I already said that, when I'd said the dreams were good ones?

"I like my dreams, too. I'd like for them to have been real, and for them to _be_ real. I'm a little scared about this, too, Bella. You're the _only_ girl I've ever seen this way-the only one I ever want to-and I don't know how this works, either."

It helped, really helped, to know that I wasn't the only nervous one here. "Can we find out together?" I whispered.

"Absolutely," Embry replied, and picked me up for a quick kiss. His recent addition of a couple extra inches in height made lifting me easier than bending over all the time.

"You gonna invite the boy in for some breakfast before we leave, Bells?" Charlie's voice made me jump in Embry's arms and him set me down carefully.

"Hey, Charlie. I actually ate at home," Embry began.

Charlie interrupted, "And you never seem to turn down a meal, or an extra one, these days. Bella made plenty. Maybe if you eat some, she'll actually remember to enjoy some of her own cooking this morning."

At that, Embry made a beeline for the kitchen, pulling me along in his wake.

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Narrator POV

Even though he really didn't want to think of all the facets of Bella growing up, it was impossible for Charlie to ignore how fast Bella's new relationship was changing from casual to serious. Had it really only been a couple weeks ago that Embry Call had somewhat apprehensively asked his permission to date Bella? And now the boy-young man-was picking her up and kissing her on her front porch like she was just as important to him as a second breakfast. And Bella seemed to be just as interested in him as he was in her. If it had been any other guy, Charlie would have been worried about his daughter's absorption in her new boyfriend, especially after last time. But this was different-Embry was different. Bella had her friends still, was keeping up with her activities and stuff, even with spending a lot of time with Embry. And it was to his credit that Embry was interested in what Bella was doing and in being involved himself. That Cullen kid had been completely different: everything was about him and his family, and the only normal teen thing they'd done-the prom-Bella hadn't even wanted to be part of. Embry was definitely more focused on Bella. Which made it a little-but only just a little-easier to watch them together like this.

He really wished things weren't so tense between him and Billy right now: he could use the advice on how to handle the idea of a teenage daughter getting physical with a boyfriend, and Billy had been through it twice. But he might have to see if Harry could help instead, at least until Billy helped Jake get some kind of reality check. The past few days, Jake had called repeatedly and left messages for Bella on the answering machine. The first few had been easy-breezy, just like the Jake that Charlie had always known. But the ones from yesterday, and even a little bit the day before that, were getting more...well, intense. He didn't blame Bella for being upset with how Jake had been acting toward her, and Embry, too. They hadn't said anything, but Charlie figured there was probably an obvious reason why the couple was spending their days in Forks rather than La Push. It was a shame that Jake didn't seem able to accept the idea of Bella and Embry being together, and if he couldn't, then Charlie was fine with Jake being kept at a distance still.

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Bella POV

After we ate, Embry followed me upstairs while I finished getting ready. There was another confession I needed to make while I was at it.

"Jake's been calling me the past few days," I told Embry.

"Yeah?" he replied evenly. "What's he had to say?"

"I actually haven't _talked_ to him, just listened to his messages. He started out calling my cell-and I just ignored him. I know it's childish, but he really needed to feel what it was like to be ignored. So then he started calling the house, maybe so he could get Charlie to pick up. He's only gotten the answering machine, though." My mouth twisted as I remembered those messages.

**Hey, Bells. Jake here. Sorry I've been so busy lately. Tribal stuff—you know, those parental expectations you can't get out of. Anyway, I think I'm getting some free time again finally. Can't wait to catch up. Call me.**

**Bells, it's Jake. Haven't heard back from you. I'd love to hang out again. Call me. Can't wait to catch up.**

**C'mon, Bells. Cut me a break, please! I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything. That I didn't get right to work on your truck when you dropped it off, like I promised. I'm sorry the tree crushed it. I'm just—sorry. For everything. I've been a jerk this week, I know. Please let me make it up to you. I can help you find new cars to look at. I'll be your slave chauffeur. Anything you want. Just give me a chance to make it all up to you. Please forgive me. You're a good person, Bells. I know you'll give me a chance to explain everything. Please, call me.**

**Hell, Bells. I've said I'm sorry till I'm blue in the face. You gonna forgive me anytime soon? I gotta talk to you.**

"Damn it," Embry muttered, pulling me close and resting his chin against the top of my head. My ear pressed against his chest and I let the rhythmic beating soothe me.

"I do feel bad-a little-that I'm doing to him what he did to me, but I guess I'm not feeling _too_ guilty about it. All the crap lately, plus that lame story about my truck, and how he's been acting toward you...I just don't want to deal with him. I would like to stay friends, but he's..." I trailed off.

Embry finished my thought anyway. "But he's not really showing you that _he _wants to be friends."

"Not _just_ friends, anyway. I wish...I can't help thinking there's something I could have done that would have kept this from happening, kept Jake from getting the wrong idea about me and him."

Embry's hand started stroking my back. "Unless you gave him a strip-tease in the garage or a make-out session when none of the rest of us were around, then I don't think you gave him any kind of signal. You're just a nice person to everyone, Bella, and Jake...well, he probably had a crush on you back when you were coming up here as a kid. I know that before you moved up here, he was non-stop for a while on 'Bella's moving back', 'Bella's getting my truck', and a lot more like that. You aren't responsible for how he's been acting any more than I am."

"I know." I could have repeated my earlier words about feeling bad for Jake, but didn't.

Yet again, Embry seemed to read my mind. "Yeah, me, too. It's hard not to feel bad when a longtime friend is getting hurt. But he's done a lot of that to himself."

"Hey, kids. You ready to go yet?" Charlie's voice called up from downstairs.

"Coming, Dad," I replied.

"Riding in the back of a cop car," Embry sighed dramatically. "Now everyone will really think I'm a juvenile delinquent."

"Why do you think I'm actually looking forward to shopping today?" was my retort. "Riding around in that thing is not my idea of fun, either." But I'd already decided that no matter what, I'd be in the back with Embry. In the end, the joke was on us, courtesy of my dad. Charlie had made arrangements with one of his deputies to borrow a civilian truck for the day.

"Thought about taking the cruiser," Charlie told us laconically. "Might have intimidated the salesguys if I had, but I figured I'd be nice to you both."

"Thanks, Dad."

"I'm the man," he teased. "So, remind me which ones we're looking at?"

Embry took on a lot of the conversation on the drive up to Port Angeles, going over each car we'd put on the consideration list, it's positives and negatives, Blue Book resale values-lots of technical guy-stuff. When we arrived, Charlie treated us to lunch at a Mexican restaurant before we hit dealership row. Between Charlie's "Forks Police Department" t-shirt that he was wearing underneath his standard plaid shirt and Embry's imposing size and expression, the salesguys were very well-behaved where I was concerned. At the end of an afternoon of test drives and sales pitches, I picked a nice safe Honda Accord 4-door sedan in a soothing silver-grey. Charlie gave them a down payment-some from him, more from my mom and Phil, and the rest from the truck's salvage-and called the insurance company to have them transfer the payout for my truck to the dealership to make up the difference.

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Embry POV

"Hey, Charlie?"

"Yeah, Embry?"

"I know it's short notice, but would it be okay with you if Bella and I hung around here for a little while? Maybe catch a movie before heading back to Forks? If she wants to, that is," I looked in Bella's direction automatically.

He gave me a long look. "Have fun. Give me a call when you're heading back, okay? And one to your mom, too."

"Will do."

Quickly striding over to Bella's side, I leaned down to pose the idea to her. "Want that Port Angeles date we'd talked about?"

"Charlie?"

"We're good. I know it's clichéd, but maybe dinner and a movie this time?"

"Sounds nice."

After seeing Charlie off, we found a parking spot near the small movie theater and scoped out the viewing options. We were both interested in seeing the new historical movie _Lincoln_, so Embry bought our tickets and we walked around the downtown area before finding a place to have dinner.

"Can you believe there's just a few weeks left until school starts again?" I asked.

"Not really. I guess I'll be glad to get it started so it can eventually end, but I'm not sure I'm ready for it."

"I know what you mean. Not much choice about it, I guess, but I'm going to miss spending all my time with you. I'll still get to spend some, but not as much as I'd like."

"It'll be a balancing act, won't it? Time for us, doing homework, and time for our parents and friends."

"We'll be able to combine some of it, though. My mom said okay to that exchange program, so I'll be coming up to Forks for some of my classes. She'll enroll me next week."

"That will be really great to have you around," Bella smiled and her eyes sparkled.

I couldn't agree more, or argue with the chance to rub it in certain guys' faces that Bella had chosen me instead of them.

"But we'll think about school only when we have to. We've still got a little more free time left, so what should we do with it?"

Her face went thoughtful. "Well, I've got an idea. Maybe a crazy one, though."

"Sometimes the best ideas _are_ the crazy ones. What is it?

"I want to find a meadow in the mountains."

"Okay... Why?"

"Like I said: it's crazy. The meadow is a place that Edward took me to once, something he'd found on one of those hiking expeditions they were always taking. He said it was his special place to get away from everyone else. I guess that I want to steal it, insane as that might seem. He took a lot from me when he left, and I want to steal this from him. I know he won't ever know about it, but _I_ will."

It was kinda crazy: both for itself and for Bella being on the same mental wavelength as me. But I could see her point, and the idea of sticking it to my girl's ex did have a lot of appeal. "Know where it is?"

"I know where we started from and the direction we went, but I'm not completely sure after that," she admitted.

"Okay, so we'll do some online searching first. That Google Earth thing ought to point us the right way."

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The promised 'we're on our way home' phone calls to our parents taken care of, Bella slid into the driver's seat of her new car and we headed out. Rehashing of the movie we'd seen took part of the time, and then I fiddled with the dashboard buttons until she slapped my hand away.

"My car."

It would have been nice to put Bella's new car to good use once we got back, but the floodlights illuminating the driveway and the twitching curtain over the living room window were very effective deterrents.

"Hang out again tomorrow?"

"Sure. I'll come to your place."

"You sure? I can come up here."

"I'm sure. Maybe...maybe we can fit in some of that self-discovery work."

_Gulp._ "Yeah. Sure. If you want to."

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Bella POV

I did want to. I was really glad now that I'd been proactive about scheduling that appointment, since it was getting more and more likely that I'd actually need it.

So when Charlie went out for his typical Sunday fishing trip-with Harry Clearwater this time-I headed down to Embry's.

"Mom got offered a shift at work today, so it's just us. Anything you want to do?"

Cue the blush. "Just hang out?"

"Fine by me. Want to swing in the hammock in the backyard?"

"Only if you promise me I won't fall out."

"I promise. And if we did happen to tip over, I'd break your fall, Wisatsu'upat."

"My hero. Wait, what was that?"

"Wisatsu'upat is the Quileute word for 'woman'. If we get in the hammock and then fall out, I'll break your fall, woman."

Despite my initial doubts, I quickly realized that hammocks were great for cuddling; in fact, they practically demanded it. Once we were settled, though, a niggle of doubt returned. How was this supposed to work? But I just took a deep breath and thought about what Leah had told me: _"Just trust your instincts, and trust Embry. I have a feeling he'll look after both of you."_

I did believe Leah, and I did trust Embry, but there was something I needed to know first.

"Embry?"

"Yeah?"

"What did that other thing mean?"

"Which thing?"

"The one you wouldn't translate for me back when you taught me a bunch of Makah words and phrases."

"Knew you wouldn't forget about that," he admitted.

"It can't be a bad thing," I was sure about that much.

"No, it's not. It's good. I just…it was probably way too soon to be saying it, even if you didn't understand what it was. I'm not sorry I said it, though. You're the only woman I've ever said that to, and the only one I ever plan to, at least that way—Mom doesn't count."

"Embry," I repeated quietly, "what does it mean?"

"Ya bisapsi cux is the Makah way of saying 'I love you'."

I'd come to know Embry well enough this summer to believe his sincerity. He wasn't the kind of guy to say that to a girl unless he believed it head to toe, inside and out, and every other way. "Wow," I finally said.

"I know you might not feel that way about me, but—"

"Or I might. But, I don't know if I can say it yet. I said it to Edward, maybe too soon, and since he left I've wondered if I really knew anything about it. Embry, you're amazing and incredible and wonderful and too many other things. I think I might, or maybe I already do, but I want to say it when I'm completely and positively sure."

Embry just rested his head against mine and somehow got the hammock rocking a little bit.

"Is there something you'd like to...?" I asked after a while.

Embry took a deep breath, but didn't speak.

"It'll be okay," I promised. "We've got to be honest with each other, right? If it's something I'm not ready for, I promise I'll say so."

Another deep breath and he took me at my word. "I want to touch you again. Like that day when you slipped in the hallway trying to run back to your kitchen."

It was my turn for a deep breath. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't thought about that accidental encounter or what a repeat might be like. So did I want to find out now?

"Okay," and I shifted so that I could reach one hand under the hem of my shirt and up to release the front closure of my bra, then shift the cups to the sides.

Embry's gulp was audible.

"I'll let you decide," I whispered, trusting him as I knew I should.

Embry locked eyes with me and then a moment later his hand closed over my shirt-covered breast. He had to feel my heart stutter and then start to pound. It felt like he truly held my heart in his hand. Embry's fingers started to knead my flesh, down to the edges and then up to circle and flick over my nipple. I gasped in reaction. That seemed to embolden Embry, who shifted in the hammock to lean over me a little, his elbows anchored in the netting on either side of me. His arms were long enough that they could still reach up, allowing both his hands to cover my breasts. The sensation was enough to send my head backward, curving my neck upward. Embry stretched and started sucking on my neck again like he'd done yesterday.

I moaned, trying to stay quiet so that any neighbors wouldn't hear me. Embry's hands on my chest were one thing, but his new position had all of him pressed up against me. Another moan was pulled out of me when one of Embry's hands drifted down and then his fingers began dancing over my stomach. They began traveling again and went up and over my breast. His hand-me-I jerked violently from the sheer power of the sensation.

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Embry POV

My dreams had actually done a good job, but the reality was even better. Bella's breasts weren't like the ones in those skin mags, but they were just perfect to fit in my hands. And the skin-on-skin contact...Before I quite knew what was happening, we were rotating and falling. I couldn't say how I managed it, but somehow I turned us in midair so that when we hit the ground, it was me on the bottom and Bella landing on top of me. The shock of the impact jolted both of us and temporarily lessened my appreciation for the fact that my girlfriend was now right where I'd been dreaming of her being.

"Damn it," she swore, face a vibrant red. "I knew that hammock was going to hate me."

"It was my fault. I'm the one who suggested it. Are you okay?"

Bella moved experimentally, and boy, did I react. So did Bella, once she felt my renewed erection. We broke apart, both of us embarrassed. While I might-did-would-want that, right now it was skipping more steps than either of us was comfortable with. I'd only just admitted to her that I loved her, and she'd only just said that she might be on her way to loving me back. I could respect that she wanted to really and truly mean the words when she said them. Hopefully it would be soon. In the meantime, taking this all the way would wait.

"I-I'm o-k-kay," she stuttered, from where she'd slid off to sit on the ground next to me.

"Want to go inside and have a do-over?" I offered. "I think it's your turn."

"My turn?"

I jumped up and helped Bella to her feet. "Yeah. Your turn to say what you want to try. If you still want to, that is?"

We held hand as we walked into the house. Finally, Bella answered me. "Yes."

I exhaled loudly. "Okay. What would you like?" I pulled her in for a hug, figuring she might like at least the illusion of privacy while she shared her wish.

"Can...I see you?"

Heart-pounding. "Yeah. Of course." Leading the way to my room, I tried to think of how to do this. No stupid ridiculous strip-tease, but not a rush-job, either.

We stood in the middle of my bedroom, the bed behind me, the desk and chair behind Bella. I wasn't sure whether or not I should watch her. Thinking that it ought to be okay at least for now, I pulled my shirt over my head and dropped it on the end of the bed. I could hear her breathing increase and even imagined that I could hear her heart-rate speed up. I stayed still, letting her look at me and waiting for Bella to say if she wanted more or not. A few steps brought her up in front of me and she ran her hands up my chest again, like she had yesterday. And of course my body reacted to her touching me. Just like the night she'd stayed over, my shorts were lacking when it came to concealment. Bella inhaled sharply when she noticed. Then she stepped back, which hurt.

"Can I see _all_ of you?" her lip was caught between her teeth, but she sounded sure enough.

I just nodded, not sure if I would be able to say anything. I dealt with the button and zipper on my jean shorts, paused for a moment to steal my nerves, and then pulled my shorts down, letting them fall to the floor where I could step out of them. My boxers did even less than the shorts at hiding my reaction to her.

_Don't lose it, Embry. And don't scare her._

I moved closer to the bed, and pulled off my boxers as I sat down. Swinging my legs up, I stretched out like I was going to sleep and looked back over at her. Bella's eyes were shifting around, and my dick twitched at the thought of being the object of her attention. My hands went from lying at my sides, to behind my head, to back down, and then back up again as I tried to figure out what to do with them. Seeing my nerves seemed to settle Bella's somehow, and she slowly started walking closer.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really. Yes. No. Maybe. It's a good feeling mostly. I-take care of things when it gets to be too much. And that feels really good."

Her hands moved aimlessly and ended up behind her back. _"If it's something I'm not ready for, I'll say so."_ Okay, so the part of my dream where she got me off would need to wait. I was okay with that-at least I thought I was.

Thought after thought flashed across her face, until she asked, "What do you do?"

_Have mercy! Did she want to see...?_

"Tell you?" I managed to ask.

"Don't you need to...?

Oh, did I ever. It felt like I was caught in a vice-grip. "Yeah," came out of my gritted teeth. "You don't have to watch. It won't take long."

"I-I want to. I think," her confession was mostly breathed.

I reached blindly to my nightstand drawer for the half-empty tube of lube. Warming it between my hands, I reached down and started coating myself with it. It was familiar, and yet it wasn't. There was the added dimension now of knowing...seeing...feeling that Bella was watching me get myself off. One day, someday, it would be her doing this with me, to me. Twist, pull, squeeze my balls to try and hold off the inevitable... Like I'd told Bella, it didn't take long at all before I felt the tell-tale tightening of my body that presaged an explosive orgasm. What shot me clean over the edge was the light touch of Bella's hand coming to rest on top of mine. With a shout I had no prayer of preventing, I lost it, shooting my seed up into the air and down onto my stomach and our hands. I knew I needed to grab something and wipe my cum up before it dried, but I was completely incapable of moving, or even opening my eyes. I nearly shot up off the bed again when fabric began brushing against my softened cock and the mess on my body. Summoning the energy to slit my eyes open, I saw what the answer was: Bella had grabbed my shirt and was cleaning me up.

"Thanks. That's good," I managed to force the words out of an arid throat. "But too much of that, and I'll just have the same problem again."

"Hungry?" Bella asked, not looking up at me.

"Always, it seems like. We can grab something. Maybe watch a movie, too."

"Yeah. I'll just-"

I sat up, snatching the shirt to drop onto my lap. "Bella? Are you okay? Should I not have-?"

"I just-I never knew...I mean, I did, but I didn't. You know?"

Yeah, I did know. Sex-ed, magazines, and locker-room gossip didn't come close to really describing the reality. "Yeah, I know. But you're okay?" I pressed for the reassurance.

"Yes. Thank you."

Bella left the bedroom so that I could put on new clothes. She had a simple lunch underway in just the short time it took me to join her. Food in hand, we settled on the couch for some tame cuddling and the first Bourne movie. Today had been amazing-mindblowing. _I wonder what tomorrow will be like._

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I really hope you like this. I'm happy with how it turned out (even though I didn't expect it to be nearly 6,000 words), but now it's in your hands as the readers to say what you think. Please let me know. Was it too much, too fast? Just right? Left you wanting more? Whatever you think, I'd love to hear it.


	31. Course of Study

Jana: I have a plan for what's coming with Bella and Embry, and I think you'll like it. I'm happy you're enjoying the story.

Guest: Thanks so much.

Guest (2): Thank you. Even, or maybe especially, when a couple is falling in love, there's bound to be some awkwardness and nerves when they start exploring the physical side of things—perhaps the more so when both are virgins. But if they can communicate and respect one another, then that will be a big help.

Thanks can be attributed to Wanda and mc7575 for comments and ideas that sparked some things for me in this chapter.

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Bella POV

With what Embry and I had done this past afternoon, I probably shouldn't have been surprised that my dreams that night reflected it.

_Embry lay stretched out on the bed-my bed, his complete lack of clothing putting his entire amazing body on display like a restaurant buffet. And I was definitely interested in sampling everything that this buffet had to offer._

"_Don't move," I warned, and leaned down. My mouth closed over Embry's nipple and began to suck. His breath hissed through his teeth and the body underneath me was rigid with tension. My tongue laved and flicked, quickly reducing Embry to inarticulate noises. Not wanting any part of him to feel neglected, my leg shifted so that I straddled him and could reach his other nipple. I definitely got a reaction, if the nudging against my belly and the growing wet spot on my camisole could be believed._

_Embry's chest attended to, I began to work my way down his stomach, following the faint, ultra-fine trail of hair ever-closer to my goal. From the way he quivered underneath me, Embry was just as eager for me to get there as I was. So, to torture us both, I turned my head to the side, letting my nose and tongue trace ever-so-lightly over the sensitive skin of his inner thigh. My hair swept over the iron hardness of his cock, and the sensation evoked a stream of unintelligible babble from my boyfriend's kiss-swollen lips._

"_Bell—now—cum—fuck—"_

_I lifted my head to focus on the weeping erection in front of me. The sight of his pre-cum leaking from the darkened tip sent my tongue out in search of treasure. Embry growled when I licked away the moisture and then began to work my way down, around, and back up again. Then, without warning, I took him deep into my mouth and began to suck. He began to thrash, and I laid my hands on his hips to keep him still. The tightening of his ball-sack against my chin warned of his imminent orgasm; I hummed, and Embry erupted into my mouth and throat._

_He'd no sooner finished than I was yanked upward, and underneath him as he rolled over._

"_You know what they say about payback," he purred. "It's __**my**__ turn now."_

I woke to the sounds of my heaving breaths and the feel of sweat-soaked clothing and sheets. As I gradually came back to reality, there was do doubt that I was...disappointed. Part of me thought that I should be embarrassed, but...I wasn't. Things that my friends had told me in the last few days swam back up into my mind, things about it being okay for me to want Embry and for him to want me, that I should go after what I wanted. So, was I going to? I thought about it all during my shower and my morning routine. Oh, I _wanted_-I knew that much, but I didn't know fully what I should want, much less how to go about getting it. _"Embry will look out for you_," Leah had said. He did seem to know a little more than I did-a guy thing, maybe-so why couldn't I just ask him? He'd show me what he liked, wouldn't he? Like yesterday. I squashed the contemplation of what it would have been like for it to have been my hand on his-_"dick, Bella. It's called a dick. Use the word, for crying out loud. How can you want it if you can't even say or think the word?"_-before I ended up needing a second shower this morning. Anyway, I had to get going-lots to do today.

An hour later, I met Embry and his mom at the Forks High School. While Embry's mom got him enrolled in the joint learning program, we compared what our class schedules would be and I gave him a little tour of the school.

"All these buildings and the forest nearby…anyone ever tempted to sneak off?"

I laughed. "Probably. I never have, but…" A wink followed.

Embry laughed in response. "It's a date." For all that I'd always been a rule-follower, the idea of sneaking off with Embry was…appealing-both for the time spent with him and also for what we'd presumably be doing while playing hooky.

Our school business taken care of, I extended an offer to Embry and his mom for dinner at my house. Tiffany insisted she would bring a dessert, and headed home to make it.

"If we're going hiking, you should wear some boots instead of those Converses you love so much," Embry said. "Do you have a pair?"

"Nope. Never." But I knew he was right. So I drove us over to Newton's Outfitters—the only place in town that would have what I needed. Inside, Embry scanned the signage and pointed me in toward the aisle for footgear. Like I'd known would happen, Mike was there to 'help' almost immediately. He looked happy to see me and not happy at all to see Embry. I didn't really want Mike's help, and wouldn't have come to his family's store if I'd had another choice. But neither did I want to drive all the way to Port Angeles for a simple pair of boots. It didn't show on my face—at least I hoped it didn't—that I knew Mike had been with Eric, Tyler, and a few others at the library the other day. It crossed my mind to wonder if they'd been the reason Embry had gotten upset. But if it was true, I somehow didn't think Mike would try to start something new today, not in his family's store and with his mom standing at the checkout counter.

"Hey, Mike," I greeted him politely.

"Bella!" he was as enthusiastic as ever—and was pointedly ignoring the fact that I wasn't alone.

"You've met my boyfriend, Embry, haven't you?" I asked, using the edge of my peripheral vision to reach for Embry's hand, which quickly slid to wrap around my waist.

"Boyfriend?" Mike's face fell dramatically and obviously. "Um, no, I don't think so."

"Oops. Well, Mike, this is my boyfriend, Embry Call—from La Push. Embry, this is a classmate of mine—well, of ours now—from Forks High: Mike Newton."

Embry's hand extended and Mike took it automatically. "Newton, as in…" he gestured around with a shake of his head, squeezing Mike's hand tightly.

Mike winced a little while admitting that this was his family's business and that he worked here.

"Great," Embry smirked. "Mind helping us out here? Bella's looking for a good pair of hiking boots. I've heard that these two are good," he reached and grabbed the boxes in question, "but do you know of any others she should try on?"

I appreciated Embry running interference for me—at least I thought it was just interference until I took a closer look at the fierce expression in Embry's eyes. Obviously there was a bit of male posturing and challenge going on here.

So I stepped up for myself and added, "I'm looking for something good, but not really expensive. But I don't want cheap that won't last, either."

"Okay, well…you'll want to skip those, then," Mike scanned the shelves, muttering to himself as he considered and rejected the offerings. "This one might work, too. What size do you need?"

I gave my shoe size and Mike went to the storeroom to retrieve the boxes. He came back with about twice the number I'd expected, and some socks.

"Have to wear good socks—keep your feet dry and blister-free. Hiking's a b-pain if you've got a blister," he groaned with obvious experience. "I bought a couple sizes in each boot just so you can make sure it feels okay."

I tried them on and walked up and down the aisle in each pair to get a feel for them.

"Hey, Bella?" Mike asked.

"Yeah?"

"I didn't think you were really into athletic stuff like hiking. What's changed? And classmates?"

I knew what Mike meant. He'd been my unfortunate gym partner more than once—and ended up with bumps and bruises because of my innate clumsiness.

"I guess I'm still not into physical activity, not really,-" at least, not any kind that Mike would find out about. "But Embry is, so I'm going to give it a try. Sharing one another's interests is what a couple is supposed to do, right? Oh, and the classmates bit is because Embry's going to be doing that joint studies program that Forks High and the Quileute Tribal School do. He'll come up here for some of his classes this year."

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Great. How does that feel?" Mike changed the subject back to the boots, apparently finally getting the message that I was firmly unavailable again.

"Pretty good. I think these should work."

"Don't forget to break them in before you really hit the trails," Mike advised, as he walked us up to the counter and set the box on the top. I restrained an eye roll—just because I wasn't athletically inclined didn't mean I was completely clueless about breaking in shoes.

"Dick," Embry muttered after we'd left the store.

"Don't call him that," I protested.

For that, I got an incredulous look from my boyfriend. "Are you defending him?"

"No," I denied. "I just don't want to have a picture of Mike Newton appear in my head when I think of that word."

Embry's mouth dropped open a little, and his eyes first widened and then narrowed. "So what _would_ you like your mental picture to be?"

I blushed-just a little bit-but maintained our eye-lock. "I think we both know the answer to that one."

"Really?" and Embry gave me a slightly satisfied smirk.

"Yes, really," my hand lightly slapped his rather muscled bicep. "The only thing is..." I trailed off suggestively.

"Yeah...?"

"I'm not sure that one viewing was enough to nail down my mental image. Could I-"

I didn't even get the full question out before Embry had pulled me flush against the front of his body. Feeling him start to firm up against my stomach made a bloom of heat rise up to fill me, which Embry seemed to echo.

"I think we both know the answer to that one," he repeated my own words back at me. Then, "Mind if I drive us back to your place? I think I need the distraction."

With only a tiny prink of regret at letting anyone else drive my new car so soon, I handed over my keys. After yesterday, I could mostly guess why Embry might need a distraction just now.

Back at my house, I paused only long enough to call the station and ask the receptionist to pass on tonight's dinner plans to my dad-who was out patrolling right now-before silently leading Embry upstairs to my bedroom. After a second's debate, I pushed the door closed behind us; Charlie would know for sure that something was going on, if he came home, but I'd rather that than him _seeing_ what was going on.

Then I turned to face Embry, and looked up at him. "I want to see-to know-but, I don't know how..."

"No one ever does, to begin with. I don't know all that much, either, but I know what I like."

"Show me. Teach me," I requested.

Without speaking, Embry nodded, and sat on my bed to remove his shoes and socks. Standing up, he stripped off his shirt, shorts, and then his boxers. Just like last time, my gaze automatically tracked to his groin, where a long and hard erection rose from a dusting of dark hair. He seemed to exert a magnetic pull on me while he backed up to the bed and sank down onto it again, compelling me to follow him across the room to sit beside him on the edge of my bed.

Embry's eyes drifted shut and he whispered, "You don't know how much I want this. Spirits, I want this." His eyelids opened. "You really want this, too? I'm not pressuring you?"

"I want this," I promised. "Show me how to make you feel as good as you did yesterday."

"Lube is best, but I didn't bring any with me. Do you have any lotion?"

I relinquished his hand and dashed to the bathroom, coming back with tall bottle of violet-scented lotion. While I'd been gone, Embry had scooted up the bed to recline against a pile of my pillows. Without thinking twice, I resumed my previous position on the edge of the mattress.

"That's new," Embry inhaled when I opened the bottle.

"I thought maybe a scent that was just for us." Edward had really liked my strawberry scented shampoo and lotion, and I'd somehow wanted something different for this new stage in my life.

"I like it. But I'd probably like any scent you decided to wear," he teased.

"So what do I do with this?"

As directed, I poured some of the lotion into my hands and rubbed them together to warm it up. Embry gently laid his hands over mine and guided me to his upright dick. But he let me make the final move to wrap my fingers lightly around him.

"It's okay," he breathed. "Up, down, over the head, twisting...it all feels good. Just don't yank."

I hoped he didn't expect me to answer back, because I couldn't. It felt like I was holding a bolt of lightning between my hands; hot, yet smooth, hard but yet soft at the same time.

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Embry POV

Whatever nutty mental specialist had said that dreams reflected reality clearly hadn't known what he was talking about. Reality left dreams far in the dust. It was a very, very good thing we were alone in the house, because my throat kept producing involuntary groans as Bella stroked me. I didn't know if it was on purpose-I didn't think so-but her light and tentative movements were slowly, or not so slowly, driving me up the wall. My cock kept jerking spasmodically, which made Bella look up at me.

"Am I hurting you?  
>"G-g-g-g-gods, no! G-good. S-s-so-o g-g-good," I babbled.<p>

Whatever I'd managed to say seemed to be just what she'd needed to hear, because her hands pressed more firmly around me. There seemed to be a matching weight over my eyes, which drifted closed even though I wanted to watch Bella. But if I'd thought closing my eyes would make it easier to bear this unbelievably wonderful torture, I was sadly mistaken. Removing one of my senses only heightened the others; my skin was more sensitive than ever, my ears caught every flutter and thump of her heart, my nose and tongue began to tingle from undetectable molecules of scent and flavor.

"_Cakwa-ak, atl, wi, bu, su'c, wihl, hla'o, qa'al, ba'iyas, tasi,"_ I mentally counted in both Makah and Quileute, trying to ward off the orgasm I knew was coming. Bella might not have known what to do before, but she was obviously a quick study. But even as I tried, I could feel fluid starting to leak from the tip of my cock. A brushing motion over that most sensitive part of my anatomy made my eyes fly open in time to watch Bella's tongue emerge from between those dusty-pink lips to carefully touch the end of her finger.

"_She—taste—me—"_ And with that, I was lost into a blinding whiteness.

Reality intruded with the feel of something swiping across my stomach and along my softened cock. "N-n-no more," I begged.

"Sorry," Bella apologized.

My eyes cracked open again just enough to see that she'd again grabbed a shirt to wipe up my cum. The sledgehammer met my skull a second later as I realized that it was _her_ shirt. Amazingly, my neck didn't break from the force of being whipped around to look at my girlfriend. My now-shirtless girlfriend. My neck might be okay, but my heart was in danger of exploding at the sight before me. Bella's body was creamy pale—quite a contrast next to my russet skin. A light green bra cupped the breasts I'd been dreaming of for a while now and had touched just yesterday.

"I got to touch you…" Bella whispered. "So if you want…"

Okay, now I'd died and gone to heaven. Maybe. "I want," I confessed, sitting up to look deep into her eyes. They were deep and clear, drawing me in.

With the bed a mess thanks to me, we both slid down to the floor. I pulled a pillow down to put under Bella's head and lay down beside her, propped on one elbow. Slowly, carefully, my fingers traced over her stomach, up her sides, along her shoulders and collarbone, lingering over the strap of her bra.

"Do you want it off?"

"Do you?" I countered. When Bella gave a small nod, I began to slide the straps off her shoulders. She arched upward so that I could slide my hand under her back to find the clasp on the bra. Sightless and completely inexperienced, I fumbled some before somehow managing it. Sitting up, I inhaled deeply and pulled her bra away on my exhale. I lost the ability to breathe just then, but didn't even notice, entranced as I was with the sight before me: a pair of soft and creamy breasts, topped with dark pink nipples. I hoped Bella didn't notice how much my hands were shaking as I reached out to cup her breasts. That first touch made both of us moan. Finally I started to circle my hands around, then my fingers. With fascination, I watched as Bella's nipples tighten into little nubs. My own body was tightening as well with a renewed erection. Chest heaving, I had to fight back the urge to cover Bella's body with my own, and take/give everything. But we'd only just progressed to taking clothes off—this was quickly becoming too much. With massive willpower, I fell onto my back on the floor beside her, breathing heavily.

"You're killing me, d'you know that?" I panted.

It wasn't a smirk, but Bella did seem shyly pleased to hear me confess that.

"Maybe I'm killing me, too."

I groaned. "Not helping, Bella." But now I was feeling bad: I'd come, and she hadn't. "Are you okay?" I asked.

I wasn't all that convinced by her, "Yes."

"Is there—can I—do you—want me to…" I was completely out to sea, with no clue what to do or say. So I just focused on Bella's face, rather than the chest pumping like an accordion with how fast she was breathing.

"Touch me," she finally whispered.

Gulp. "Where? How?"

Bella's hands were the ones shaking now as she unbuttoned, unzipped, and wiggled her jeans down her legs. Then she reached for my hand and moved it to rest between her legs. I could feel the heat radiating from her skin even through the layer of her underwear—heat, and moisture.

"It felt good to rub," breathed the girl beside me. "I—want you—"

With no real clue beyond that, I extended two of my fingers and stroked back and forth. Bella started to shake beneath my hand, bucking up from the floor as she screamed my name. The realization that I'd just given Bella an orgasm made my balls tighten and my own hips started to jerk. Somehow I grabbed Bella's abandoned t-shirt, wrapped it around my dick, and shuddered into my own release.

"Oh, oh," Bella gasped.

We stared at each other in a bit of embarrassment.

"Maybe we should…laundry. Lunch," Bella spoke quickly.

"I can start the laundry. Do you want—I don't know—a shower?"

"Yeah." She grabbed a change of clothes and dashed across the hall into the bathroom. After cleaning myself off again, I redressed and pulled Bella's old clothes and the bedsheets into a pile and carried them downstairs. Bella was quick, and came downstairs before I had a chance to start making our lunch.

"You can take one, too, if you need it," she offered.

It was a good idea, and I took her up on it. We ate lunch when I was done, and then sat in silence.

"Did we take things too far today?" I asked.

"No," Bella shook her head. "At least, not for me. But I feel like I'm standing in a swimming pool and I'm about to lose contact with the bottom. I know we said we weren't going to rush into needing those condoms or my birth control pills, but it seems like our bodies are saying something else."

"Yeah. I—If we'd stayed in your room any longer… We don't know what we're doing here, and we ought to," I decided. Bella was right: our previous decisions aside, we were moving closer and closer to the point of no return every day. 'Ignorance is bliss' wasn't going to work anymore.

"The library," Bella announced. "We need information, and libraries have information. And we can break in my new boots at the same time."

She put some steaks in a marinade sauce in the fridge, and left her house to walk the several miles to the library we'd visited for our first date. Bella's thought of using the library computers to look stuff up didn't last long; the filters blocked a lot of sites, and neither of us was 18 and able to request that the filters be deactivated. But the health section did give us a good option.

"'S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College'," I read the title in a whisper. "Yeah, that might just cover it." We holed up in a corner and started browsing the book. When I debated going to ask the library staff for paper like I'd done last time, Bella shook her head.

"I'll just check it out."

"But—what if the person says something to your dad?"

"I don't know if they could. But, I guess I'll face that if it happens."

As it turned out, we didn't have to worry. They'd installed a new self-checkout machine since our last visit, so no one saw the book title to tattle on us. Just in case, though, I grabbed a plastic bag on our way out; no sense taking chances on the walk back to Bella's house.

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Narrator POV

Tiffany Call walked the store aisles, trying to decide what recipe she'd be using and thus what ingredients she needed. Feeling eyes on her back, she turned around and saw the long-haired figure of Billy Black sitting in his wheelchair.

"Tiffany," he said, "we need to talk, about Embry."

"Why do we need to talk about my son?" she asked. "He hasn't done anything wrong."

"I know he's seeing Bella Swan. What I don't understand is why, when he knew Jacob—"

She cut him off. "What he knew is that Jacob abandoned both of them, just like Quil. So, naturally, the two left behind started to lean on each other. And if that friendship has now become something more, then I think that's wonderful. It can never be a bad thing for friendship to come before romance. Embry is good for her, Billy, just as Bella is good for him. If Jacob is truly their friend, then he should be happy for them."

The older man narrowed his eyes. "Happy that his friend stole—"

"Embry stole _nothing,_" Tiffany retorted, heat in her hushed voice. "Bella was Jacob's friend the same as Embry's and Quil's. If Jacob _had_ been dating her and Embry cut in, then yes, your son would have a reason to be upset. But Embry didn't do that. He asked, and Bella used her freedom of choice to say yes. She's a living breathing girl, not an inanimate toy for a pair of dogs to fight over."

A barely audible snort of laughter from elsewhere in the story didn't distract either of them.

"They are going to get hurt."

"I happen to disagree. Your 'concern' does you credit, but neither Bella nor Embry are your responsibility. Embry will do everything he can to make Bella happy, which should please a lifelong friend of her father. Now, if you'll excuse me, my son and I have been invited over to dinner at his girlfriend's house tonight." With that, Tiffany quickly made her selections, paid, and left.

"That went well," Sam approached Billy and offered the comment sardonically. The chief gave the Alpha a glare but said nothing, other than a request to be driven home. The elder Black felt much like his son: wondering when things would start to go right again. Jacob, Bella, Charlie, Embry…everything seems to be spinning out of his control. Embry was trying to steal the rightful Alpha's imprint, Bella seemed intent on avoiding Jake at all cost, Jake was still struggling a little with control, and Charlie was suspicious of everything. Jared had reported in after dropping off the salvage money that the police chief had asked a lot of questions and given him a lot of appraising looks. Sue Clearwater had said that he'd stopped by her house after taking pictures of the ruined truck and had seemed to think that something was going on.

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From long experience, Charlie knew that Harry worked on his fishing gear on Monday afternoons, putting things to rights after weekend fishing trips. So having heard that Bella had invited the Call's over for dinner, he headed down to La Push for a long lunch break to catch his old friend.

"Hey, Charlie," Harry greeted.

"Harry. Things getting put to rights down here?"

"Yeah. Plenty of firewood for the winter now. Bella got a new car yet?"

"Saturday. Embry was a big help to her in picking the possibilities to test out in Port Angeles. Think she found a good one."

Charlie watched carefully and noted a faint twitch on Harry's face. His friend said, "That's good. Every girl should have a reliable car, for safety's sake."

"Yeah. They need a good boyfriend, too."

No doubt about it-Harry's face twitched again. This time, Charlie didn't ignore it. "You have something against him? Or is there something about him that I don't know about?"

"No, he's a good kid..." Harry really felt stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place. He couldn't condemn a boy that he did know was a good kid, but he couldn't in good conscience support Embry's relationship with Bella, either.

"But what?" Charlie retorted, in an atypical display of fire. "If he's a good guy, then he's a good guy. I'm glad that he's been such a good friend to Bella all this summer, and if she trusts him enough to start dating him-well, I haven't seen anything in him that makes me question that."

"What about Jake? I always thought you and Billy kinda hoped that he and Bella would end up together?" Harry tried.

"What about him? He's been who-knows-where for a couple weeks now. All this whatever. Absence, silence, secrets, Bella's truck...all this stuff's making me glad, to tell you the truth, that Bella's not forgiving him blindly."

"Charlie-"

The police chief shook his head. "If what I've seen lately is who Jake really is, then he'd be no better for her than that Cullen boy was, maybe even worse. I just watched my little girl get her heart broken, Harry, and I'll be damned if I'll stand by and let it happen again."

The tribal elder sighed. There really wasn't much he could say-maybe there was nothing he could say. Charlie was perfectly right in everything he was saying. Realistically, Harry would feel exactly the same if it was his own daughter caught up in this mess-and Leah had been. It had killed him inside that there had been absolutely nothing he could do when Sam had imprinted on Emily and devastated Leah. As a father, he would do anything he could to keep his baby girl from being hurt again. But to encourage this denial of a future imprinting went against everything he and the other elders believed about the whole idea. Finally, Harry spoke.

"I'm not denying that Jake hasn't handled things very well lately, Charlie. And you've got every right to be-I would be, in your place. But I think things would get a lot better for them if he could just talk to Bella and explain it. I get why Bella hasn't wanted to return Jake's calls, but it's got to stop sometime. If Jake can explain, then Bella will understand."

"Did Leah understand? Did you tell her to just talk to Sam Uley?"

Harry sighed heavily. "No, I didn't. Maybe I should have, but Leah wasn't in any mood to listen to anyone or anything. Even if she had..." Harry's daughter was even more stubborn than both her parents, so even if Sam had tried to explain the truth to her-which he hadn't been allowed to do-Leah likely wouldn't have accepted any of it. Bella was appearing to be just as stubborn, so perhaps it wasn't a surprise that the two girls had become such good friends this summer. But none of this enlightenment was much help to Harry Clearwater where his friend was concerned.

Finally, Harry offered, "I'll talk to Jake, and to Billy while I'm at it. And Charlie, please ask Bella to at least hear him out. If she still wants to be mad afterward, then she'd have that right. But Jake deserves to be able to tell her himself what's been going on."

"I'll pass that along," was all Charlie was willing to promise.

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Paul POV

I was still on Sam's bad list, even if Jake hadn't ended up running to Canada again that one night. So it meant that whenever something needed to get done, I got to be the one to do it. Which explained why I was walking through the Thriftway in Forks with a cart of groceries. Naturally, the things Jared and Kim needed couldn't be found in the Cameron's store on the rez. Just as naturally, Kim had to have them now, so Sam had stopped on his way out the door to patrol with Jared to tell me to drive into town to get the stuff on the list.

I still didn't think I ought to be blamed for speaking honestly-I mean, how was I supposed to know that Jake would go flying off the handle like that? And it wasn't like I'd repeated the incident: Sam had put a gag order on me to keep my mouth shut where any other Jake/Bella bombshells were concerned. The whole pack was sitting on one right now, but as long as they weren't thinking about it, and the new kids didn't go looking for it, then Jared and Kim's secret might be safe for a little bit longer. I doubted it, personally-Jake clearly didn't like secrets, and this was a doozy. Maybe the new pups were so innocent that they couldn't see the parallels (or reasons) between the relationship of Jared and Kim to Sam and Emily's. Maybe they'd get a clue if they saw the stuff I was going to be buying…

"What the hell? 'Vanilla ice cream'? There's vanilla ice cream at the rez store! What's the difference? Vanilla Bean, French Vanilla, Slow-Churn…" I muttered under my breath. "Pickles? Crinkle cut, smooth cut, whole, baby, sweet, dill…? How the hell am I supposed to know what to get? With a growl, I pulled out Sam's cell phone and called Emily to get answers. There was no way on earth that I was going to get the wrong stuff and then have to make another round trip. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this stuff was supposed to make Kim stop throwing up-they were more like vomit-inducing things to me-but I hadn't argued.

Matter of fact, I used part of my time in the store to take care of some personal business. I hit the books and magazines aisle of the store and stocked up on the latest must-have publications: Maxim, Playboy, Penthouse, and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Had to keep up with the good stuff, especially if I was going to keep winding Jake up. Sam might have been able to seal my lips around Jacob about the end result of imprinting and where Embry and Bella were concerned, but he couldn't keep me quiet about everything. Getting under Jacob's skin the way I could made all the other stuff worth it-nothing like twisting the wolf's tail to keep the day interesting.

I got some long looks from the girl at the checkout counter when she got a look at all of my purchases—looks filled with open invitation. Some good things about being a wolf now were the muscles, metabolism, and 'Mmmm, Paul's' that I got. But my inner wolf didn't seem that interested in this girl, so I just offered a smirk and then left.

I was slowing down for a red light at an intersection near the edge of town when I saw something else I absolutely needed to keep a lid on. Bella Swan and Embry Call were standing by the side of a building. Her back was against the wall, and his body and arms bracketed her in place. With my keen senses, the scents of arousal and at least some sort of physical satisfaction were obvious; their pounding blood and gasping breaths were also big clues that things were fast getting hot and heavy. I was actually impressed that a pair of virgins could figure that out so fast.

"Want to be bookworms again tomorrow?" Embry's voice rumbled softly. "I think I need another study session."

"Mmmhmm," Bella mumbled.

_Hmmm, wonder if...?_

They both looked up at the sound of the music pouring from the sound system out the open windows. The glazed expressions they'd both had faded when they recognized me. Embry pushed off the wall and swung around to keep himself between me and Bella. Getting a good look at Embry, my eyes narrowed, and that little itch I'd had since that face-off he'd had with Jared in the rez store-not typical for a shy and quiet guy like him-came back. Kid was a solid six feet tall now at least, and not the string-bean he'd been last school year, either. The way that he was focused on me… Most people gave the pack a wide berth, instinctively a bit intimidated by us; Embry definitely wasn't scared, even if he was spending a lot of time away from La Push now. He just stared back challengingly, daring me to say something. But I didn't plan to, if I could help it-not to him, and not to the pack, either. I liked my head and my balls right where they were, and telling anyone about any of this would jeopardize at least one if not both. Plus, I had softening ice cream to deal with, and two pissed-off imprints if I didn't get it back home ASAP.

All the way home, I tried to puzzle this whole thing out. Bella didn't want Jake, but clearly did want Embry. Embry didn't seem to care what anyone, including Jake, thought about it, and wasn't afraid to get up in anyone's face. He didn't look like the short and skinny science geek anymore, either. Growth, attitude, possessiveness… It almost seemed like...but it couldn't be...could it?

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AN: I honestly kept trying to wrap this chapter up so I could post it, but things just kept popping up demanding to be included here (ahem, ahem, Paul and Embry). So while this took a few days longer than expected, you do get a very nice long chapter out of it. Enjoy (and review if you're so inclined).

I'll also say that I didn't expect/plan that Bella and Embry would get up to quite so much in this chapter, but they appear to have had other ideas. And who am I to argue with them? Hope you enjoyed this and that it was worth a really late night staying up to get this finished.


	32. Family Time

AN: I'd originally planned for this Jake/Billy section to be in the last chapter. But when I realized that the rest of the chapter was done except for this part and not knowing for sure how big it was going to be, this got pushed back to here and you got that chapter sooner than you would have otherwise (okay, so we could also blame Embry and Paul…nah, can't blame them at all).

Yay to Twimama77 for giving review #600 for this story on FF!

Thanks EmilyWoods for reminding me that I also need to include warnings to readers about wearing your sunglasses while reading to protect your eyes from the flaming heat.

Jana: I'm glad that you like how the various story elements are unfolding. High praise to hear that it couldn't be better; I'll have to be careful that it doesn't go to my head. Our couple is indeed very sweet and caring. Thanks so much for all of your appreciation for the work that goes into each new chapter.

Guest: Thanks for loving it as much as I do. Hope this came soon enough.

Guest (2): Yeah, Embry's mom had his back. Paul is getting a clue about how things really are. I'm thrilled to be bringing you your favorite story. Thanks.

Guest (3): Sorry about the wait. We can completely blame Jake on this one.

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Bella POV

"Who was that?"

"Paul Lahote. One of Sam Uley's guys," Embry answered.

"Wonder what he was doing up here?"

"Don't know and don't care," Embry replied. "It's a free country, so he can go where he wants to."

It finally really sank in for me that Embry and I were standing on a street corner in Forks, where anyone, not just Paul Lahote, could see us. I wasn't ashamed or anything, but maybe it wasn't the best place for what we'd just been doing. I didn't regret it, but people were-and would be-talking enough as it was. Embry wrapped his hand around mine and we resumed our walk back to my place. After lunch, there was a moment where we were both obviously figuring out 'what now?'

"I think we got interrupted earlier," I began.

"Really?" Embry's brow lifted.

"Yeah, we did. Back on the corner."

"Well, we can't have anyone saying that I'm not giving you proper attention." With that, Embry leaned down and kissed me. With all the explorations we'd been doing this last day or two, we'd almost seemed to forget about this. The kiss started out sweet and gentle, but quickly grew in intensity. Almost before I knew what was happening, Embry's tongue invaded my mouth, conquering me before I even realized an assault had begun. My hands tried to grip into his shoulders but I ended up stretching to lock my fingers around the back of his neck. I didn't even notice him moving backward-not until he dropped onto the couch and pulled me with him. I landed rather ungracefully in his lap.

"More," Embry begged, when we broke our lip-lock for a few necessary-harshly gasping-breaths.

Seizing courage and initiative, I shifted around so that I was straddling Embry's thighs, moved my hands to frame his face, and leaned in to kiss him again. His lips opened underneath mine and I hesitantly took the offered invitation. His groan vibrated right through me, igniting a fire that swept along my skin and through my body like a component of my blood supply, spurring a more thorough exploration on my part. Embry's arms pulled me against his chest and his hands found the hem of my shirt and started tracing up over the bare skin of my back. I gasped into his mouth when I felt a growing swell underneath me. Logically, I knew it was Embry's physiological reaction to me and what we were doing; instinctually my hips started a gently rocking movement. Embry's body bucked upward and we rubbed against each other. The resulting sensation jerked us both so sharply that I tumbled down to the floor-narrowly missing banging my head on the coffee table.

"I admit I hoped you'd fall for me, but I didn't expect to be taken literally," Embry stared down at me and suddenly started snorting, then laughing. He slid off the couch to a spot next to me on the floor. "What are we doing?" he gasped. "The hammock, now the couch..."

Humiliation had my face flushing and my eyes watering. Of course, Embry noticed. He rolled onto his side and scooted up against me.

"Bella, sweet Bella, I'm not laughing at you. It's this whole thing of us barreling straight into something that we're both clueless about. I love that we can stir each other up so much, but I don't want either of us actually getting hurt in the process."

"So what do we do?" I whispered.

"Well, I'd say we should start reading that book, for starters. And when we do hit that 'Grand Slam', I think an air mattress on the floor would be perfect."

And there it was. A no-nonsense straight-out statement that we would be having sex sometime-and the way things were going, that sometime would be soon. It seemed to bring both of us back to reality. His brown eyes stared into mine and mine stared into his; both of us facing the reality of where what we'd just done was surely going to lead us-where we both obviously wanted it to go. Like that first movie day when things had really started to change between us, we put a little separation zone into place on the couch. A pillow supported the book between us and we began to scan the pages.

Mid-afternoon, we took a break to handle some of the dinner prep work. When I went into the kitchen, Embry ran the book upstairs; neither one of us wanted a parent to catch sight of it. I checked on the steaks marinating in the fridge and then started assembling the making of the side dishes. A batch of bread from a box mix was prepped and set to rise, and potatoes cleaned and ready to be cut and seasoned. While I did this, Embry went out back and checked the status of the little propane grill that Charlie had gotten at some point but that we hadn't used much since I'd moved back.

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Embry POV

I was out back behind Bella's house when my mom arrived a little early for dinner. "I've got an apple pie and a carton of ice cream. The pie is ready to go into the oven," she said. "I thought we might like it nice and hot, so I didn't bake it yet." The open windows in the kitchen let me hear what was going on inside perfectly.

"That's fine. The oven's already heated for the bread, so we can put the pie right in. Dad should be home anytime," Bella replied.

"Perfect. Where's Embry?"

"He's out back getting the grill ready for the steaks."

Mom stuck her head out the back door to say hi to me, but stayed in the kitchen helping Bella. When the grill was ready, I went inside to grab the steaks-and a kiss from Bella. Bella's dad arrived just a few minutes later and came outside to man the grill with me.

"You two have a good day?" he asked.

Oh, boy, had we. "Yeah. Walked over to the library for a while, then hung out here and got dinner prepped."

Dinner talk was light and fun, mostly about our respective days. I got the feeling that everyone-not just Bella and I-might not have shared everything; if it could keep our secret, then I wasn't going to complain. Afterward, Mom insisted on handling the clean up. "I'll just wash the dishes, Bella. I know that every cook wants things to go back in just the right spots, so I won't mess up your system by trying to put things away. You just go on and relax." She shooed us out of the kitchen. Surprisingly, Charlie stuck around and didn't follow us.

"I think they're talking about us," I whispered, grinning. Somehow, it was funny to think of our parents comparing notes about us. At least, I was trying to look at it that way.

Bella's answering smile was a little pained. "Great."

We sat tamely on the couch this time and turned on the TV. Bella curled up next to me as we started watching what I told her was the first Bourne movie. The whole amnesia plot idea brought up things I didn't like to think about. Even though I knew who I was as a person-unlike the movie character-there was that big thing that I didn't know. Even though I kept saying it didn't matter who my dad was, the truth was that it probably did matter more than I wanted to admit. The way people were starting to act now...being seen as an outsider now when it hadn't been that way up until now wasn't fun. Like I could help it that my mom was from another tribe. And I didn't even know my dad's name, much less which tribe he was from. I'd always assumed he was Makah, and that Mom had moved down here to get distance from him and the memories. But I really didn't know. He could be from any tribe at all, even the Quileute tribe-but I didn't want to think about that. To even consider the possibility that he might be or have been someone I'd met made me sick to think about.

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Narrator POV

Tiffany got to work washing the dishes, and Charlie stayed uncertainly at the table.

"Thanks again for letting Bells stay over that one night," he said quietly.

"It was our pleasure."

"Nothing happ—" he started to ask, before cutting himself off. "No, shouldn't butt in," Charlie muttered to himself. Tiffany still heard him.

"No, nothing happened, other than Embry telling her some tribal stories as a distraction."

"I remember hearing some of the stories myself, growing up," he mused.

"You heard their stories? I somehow thought they didn't tell those to outsiders," Tiffany asked.

"Well…they don't, usually, I suppose. But I pretty much grew up with Billy and Harry and Quil IV—we called him 'Four'—so I kind of snuck in when they got told the old tales. Scary. Powerful. You know, I sometimes thought that my friends wished that the stories were true."

She smiled. "I could see kids thinking like that."

"Yeah. I didn't mind listening, though. Better than games of 'Cowboys and Indians' or 'Whale Hunt'. So Embry knows the stories, too?"

"At least some of them. He and young Quil and Jacob Black were thick as thieves from the time they started rolling over and sitting up. No one ever made a fuss about Embry being around when the stories were told that I know of. I suppose someone might have tried to make him leave a time or two, but the others wouldn't hear of it so he stayed."

"Embry getting hit by a barrage of messages from Jake like Bella has been?"

"No. Not on the house number at least, and he hasn't mentioned cell calls. Bella must be the lucky one."

"Hmph," Charlie uttered. "Don't think she cares for that kind of luck. Or the crappy apologies he's tried to make. But...can't say I'm that surprised Jake isn't reaching out to Embry yet. Probably not too happy to hear about him and Bella."

"Do you think she should be with Jacob instead?" Tiffany's voice and body language were tense.

"No," Charlie denied. "Okay, sure, Billy and I talked 'what if' a few times on fishing trips and stuff over the years, but Bella's always done her own thing. I don't think she's ever seen Jake as more than a childhood playmate or unofficial younger brother. I want her to be happy and be with someone who treats her the way she deserves. Right now, seems like that's Embry."

Tiffany nodded and rinsed off the last dish, setting it in the counter drainboard. Then the two parents left the kitchen to join their children in the living room. Embry and Bella were curled up next to each other on the couch watching a movie.

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Jake POV

With those leeches, new and old, having shown up the other day, Sam had the whole pack out on frequent patrol loops. In the time left before school started up again, Sam decided to mix up the patrol schedules a lot, saying that we all needed to know how to work with everyone else. I was still pretty pissed with Sam, and just tried to stay quiet around him. Jared was a pretty good guy to be around and didn't bug me much, a favor that I tried to return. Quil and I were basically back to normal again-now that I knew he wasn't going to be going after Bella. Paul, though...he really seemed to like getting in little digs at me, and when he wasn't doing that, he was blasting out replays of his extracurricular activities on an endless loop. Part of me didn't mind getting the mental equivalent of a crash course in scoring with the girls, but sometimes it seemed like he was doing it on purpose to get a rise out of me.

Today, Sam had all of us out running a loop practically the whole way around the Olympic National Forest that covered most of the Olympic Peninsula. Well, all of us except for Paul, who'd been detailed off as some kind of errand boy for Emily and Kim. I wasn't exactly thrilled about running hundreds of miles today, even if I did like my new wolf-speed—but I'd much rather do this than—

_Jake! You're doing what you need to, and Paul's doing what he needs to._

_No, I'm not. What I need to do is see Bella—or at least talk to her. I'm doing better, Sam—you know I am._

_You are,_ he agreed. _Okay, Jake. Clear the air with your dad, and try calling Bella again. If that doesn't work, then we'll see what we can do about getting the two of you in the same spot again._

Finally free to head home, I found my dad waiting for me—so Sam must've planned on this. Guess we were probably overdue for that hash everything out chat that we'd somehow never managed to have.  
>I still wasn't looking forward to this, but realistically I knew it had to happen. But I didn't know what I was going to say. It still burned that my dad had stayed silent even when he'd seen what was happening to be. And on top of that, knowing that he was deliberately lying to one of his best friends…it was hard sometimes for me to recognize my own dad. All those talks about honesty and owning up to stuff now seemed really hypocritical right now.<p>

"Hey, Dad."

"Jake. Everything okay out there?"

"Yeah. No sign of anyone today."

"Good. That's good. Jake—"

"Why didn't you tell me? Warn me?"

"I wanted to. In the beginning, I hoped you'd be spared. You were happy, and I didn't want to spoil that. Warning you…would have taken you away from everyone so much sooner—and there's no way to tell for sure how long the process will take to complete."

"Know that firsthand, do you? And I got torn away from them for a long time anyway!"

Dad had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "No, Jake, I don't know firsthand. But we've tried to work some of this out watching the evolution of this new pack. I saw my grandfather Ephraim phase with his pack once, when he was an old man and I was a young boy. But he and the others really didn't talk much about how it had all started for them."

"His pack?"

"Ephraim was the Alpha of that pack, Levi Uley his Beta, and Old Quil's father was the third."

"Nice little flip-flop this time around, huh?"

"For now."

"What do you mean, 'for now'?" my eyes narrowed.

"You are Ephraim's great-grandson, just as Sam is Levi's great-grandson. You are destined to take up that role, just as Sam is."

"But he's Alpha."

"Because he was oldest and phased first. Because you weren't—and perhaps still aren't—ready yet. But you'll be Alpha, Jacob—it's your birthright."

"Just like going furry, right? And Bella?"

"Once she knows everything, I'm sure she'll be an excellent imprint and mate."

"Once she knows…how can you be so sure she won't still be mad at me for abandoning her? And don't think of telling me that this whole Embry mess will get fixed that easy," I scoffed. That was something else that still made me mad—that my friend would try to steal my girl away. But…I'd spent most of the summer curing her of one heartbreak—I didn't want to have to start over again from square one. So maybe taking things a lot slower than either Sam or Jared had done would be the best idea. That was sure to be just what Bella would need and want.

"It's unfortunate for everyone that this entanglement developed. But the wolf will be just what the imprint needs, and the imprint will be just what the wolf needs. And I think Bella will adapt to the pack easier than you might think—she didn't seem to have issues with the Cullens while they were here."

I wondered who he was trying to convince, me or himself. I wanted to be that optimistic, but with how my life had gone these last couple weeks, I wasn't going to hold my breath for it.

Jake, I wish I could make it up to you. I know you don't-and maybe never will-understand, but I never wanted you to be hurt. If I could have taken this burden instead of it falling on you, I would have."

I remembered Jared saying a while back that my dad was probably envious of me getting to be a wolf when he hadn't been one. "Yeah, well if you figure out how, let me know."

"Jake," Dad sighed and then reached into his shirt pocket. "I know this won't make up for anything, but maybe it'll help with you and Bella." He held out a small black cell phone. "It's got a good calling plan and plenty of texting." He recited the phone number and committed it to memory, and programmed it into the phone's memory just in case. Bella's number was the next to be added.

"Thanks, Dad."

"You deserve it. Just keep track of your minutes and messages-they'll charge out the ass if you go over, and you'll be the one covering the extra."

"Sure, sure."

"Instruction book is on your desk. Do us both a favor and read it sometime, okay?"

"Sure, sure."

I didn't, though. Instead, I called Bella's cell phone. Since she wouldn't recognize my new number, maybe she'd answer this time and I'd finally be able to talk to her. But she didn't. Looking at the clock to see that it was around dinnertime, I figured that she might be downstairs while her phone was upstairs, and she just wasn't hearing it. Switching to their house number just got a busy signal. I breathed deeply and tried to stay calm. Then I decided that if the Mohammed wouldn't come to the mountain, then the mountain would go to him-or, rather, to her.

_Tomorrow, Bells. I'll see you again tomorrow._

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Embry POV

When we got home, Mom wanted to chat for a minute. "You two really look good together," she began. My mind immediately went into the gutter, wondering what we'd look like _together_ together, and blushed from having that idea with my mom in the same room; she thought it was just me being shy and embarrassed, thank goodness. "No, really, you do. It's obvious that you're developing strong feelings for each other."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No!" My mom denied. "If you care about her and she cares about you, then those feelings _ought_ to develop. I like Bella a lot—she's exactly the kind of a girl that moms hope their sons will find."

"So?" my question was a little testy.

"You know, Bella's dad asked me tonight if anything happened between you two here the night she stayed over. I believed what you told me the next morning, and told him that," she paused. "Is that still true?"

I stared at my mom in disbelief. "Are you really asking me that? Are you seriously asking me if Bella and I are having sex?"

She met my eyes squarely. "Are you?"

"No. We haven't had sex. And as for whether or not we will…that's our business. But, she's the kind of girl I'd want to give my virginity to, if it comes to that."

I escaped into my room as soon as I could, but stopped dead in my tracks just inside my door. Something was on my bed that hadn't been there when I'd left this morning. Walking closer, I saw that it was a stack of magazines. _What?_ A closer look, and my jaw dropped open. I scattered the pile over my bed and tried to figure out how a stack of Playboys and Playmates had managed to transport themselves in here. Still, I wasn't one to turn down a free gift, so I dropped onto the bed and picked up one magazine at random. The edges of many of the pages were feathered with small sticky notes, and I opened to one of those pages. Written near the inner edge of the sticky note, a sloppy hand had scrawled, "Girls love to be stroked here." I quickly flipped to other flagged pages and saw similar types of commentary on technique or areas of importance on almost all of them. _Who the hell is giving me sex advice?_ I wondered. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Embry," I told myself. Mere hours ago, I'd wished for more knowledge about what I was getting myself into where Bella was concerned-now I had just been given it. But by whom? Who would know that things were getting so intense between us that tips would be helpful? For some reason, my mind flicked to another of today's events. Paul had seen us on that street corner-would he have guessed, just from that? And even if he had, why would he do anything? He was part of Sam Uley's crew that Jake and Quil had recently joined up with, and given how that gang had been looking at me lately and how strangely they'd been acting when I was around, why would he be helping me out? Wasn't he supposed to be on Jake's side now, trying to tear Bella and me apart instead of helping us get closer? Well, short of tracking him down to ask-which I didn't plan to do-I might not find out. But it probably didn't really matter why he was doing it. I'd just be quietly grateful: he did have a reputation with the girls, both on the rez and outside it, so he'd know what he was talking about.

_So, 'let's talk about sex, baby.'_

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Bella POV

Given the intense kiss Embry had given me when both he and his mom had left after the movie, I really expected my dad to have something to say about the obvious development of my new relationship. But my usually predictable dad threw me for a loop when he didn't say anything directly. Instead, he just asked me a question.

"Have you talked to your mom lately?"

"Ummm…"

"I know we really didn't talk about this when your mom was here earlier this summer, Bella, but I do get that she wasn't a mom like other kids have. I understand that you helped take care of her as much, if not more, than she did for you. And I'm sorry for that. But she is still your mom, and she did the best she could. I'm not saying you should go to her for advice necessarily, but she does deserve to know what's going on in your life. Something like a new boyfriend is news to share, okay?"

"Okay, Dad."

As I walked upstairs to my cell phone, I calculated what time it would be on the East Coast: a little after 11 PM. Remembering that she and Phil were night owls, especially in the summertime, I took the chance and decided to call my mom's cell phone—worst case, I'd just leave her a voicemail.

I was a little confused at the calls I'd missed tonight. All from the same unfamiliar number, and with no voicemails left. _Who could this have been?_ I was mildly curious, but calling my mom was more important.

"Hello? Bella?"

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Sweetie. How are you?"

"I'm good."

"How is your new car?"

"It's really nice. I still miss my truck some, but this is a good one. Embry did a great job helping me find the ones I test-drove."

"Embry? Who's that? Didn't Jacob help you?"

"Embry grew up at La Push along with Jake. Jake's been really busy lately, or so I've heard, so he didn't have anything to do with my car search."

"Uh oh. What's going on, Bella?" Damn, I hated it when Renee's radar switched on. So I quickly related how Jake had pulled away from both Embry and me a few weeks ago, and how we'd gotten close because of it, ending with how mad Jake seemed to be now that he knew.

"Are you being safe?" was the first thing my mom said when I was finished.

Predictably, I flamed up and spluttered in reaction.

"Bella, you've got to think about things like this—"

"I did," I interrupted. "I got my old birth control prescription renewed, Embry's mom got him a box of condoms—I think we'll be fine if it happens."

"You mean 'when', right, don't you?" Damn again.

"Probably. He's so—I think he's it."

"Oh, baby! Do you know what to—oh, I'm going to get online right now and get you a subscription to _Cosmopolitan_. Does Charlie know?"

"Mom! He knows there's nothing to worry about. I love you. Bye." And I actually hung up on my own mother from sheer embarrassment. I was glad that my mom was happy for me, but surprised at how enthusiastic she was. But I wasn't going to complain about it—or about the magazine I'd be getting. Jessica had passed along some issues of that one that she and her mom had looked at, so I knew what it was like. Hopefully, it would help.

I did my usual nighttime routine and collapsed onto my bed, wondering as I shut my eyes what my dreams might be like tonight.

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AN: Yes, I do realize that any form of sexual activity is technically considered to be sex. But as the book Bella and Embry looked at says, many teens and young adults operate under an assumption that it doesn't count as sex if it isn't full-on intercourse. So it could be argued under that mindset that Embry didn't lie to his mom-but he sure didn't tell all of the truth, either.


	33. Searching

Bella POV

With my memories and our online research, Embry had ID'd two possibilities for the meadow I wanted us to find.

"We'll try this one today," he pointed on the map, "and if it isn't the one, we'll do the other tomorrow." He had a backpack ready with snacks and water bottles, and I added an extra pair of shoes and socks like he'd done. Embry helped me onto his bike, settled the pack onto my back, and got on in front of me.

"Hang on tight," he said over his shoulder.

"Keep your eyes—and mind—on the road," I shot back.

"Aw, do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. For our safety, if nothing else. Besides, they say that 'good things come to those who wait'."

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Embry POV

Well, in that case…

I felt Bella scoot up against me and wrap her arms tightly around my torso. Girlfriend secured, I throttled the engine and we were off. I took the 101 north from town and then turned off onto a road into the national forest where the map indicated, taking it until the pavement ran out at the trailhead.

"Okay, we're on foot from here." I swung off my bike and helped Bella off. Once her helmet was set onto the bike along with mine, I slid the backpack's straps off her shoulders.

"What?" she asked.

"My turn to carry the bag. Can you handle a compass?"

"I can if you show me how."

The forest was peaceful, with a light breeze carrying the scents of flowers and trees and the sounds of birds chirping high above us. I was letting Bella go in front, more because I wanted to be able to catch her if she started to stumble than because she had the compass. I was good with directions and we probably didn't need it, but I'd wanted to give her a job that seemed important; then again, it wouldn't hurt for her to know how to use the compass anyway, so it was actually a good thing for her to get the practice now.

Thankfully, she didn't trip too many times, and when she did, I was right there to sweep her into my arms before she got near the ground. Plus, it was a great excuse to sneak a kiss—which I fully enjoyed at each opportunity.

The sun was high in the sky by the time we broke into the clearing we'd been aiming for. I looked down at Bella, watching her glance around the meadow. She repeated the movement a few times before lifting her eyes to meet mine.

"This isn't it. This isn't the right meadow."

"Okay. Now we know which one it isn't. We'll just try the other one next."

"Today?"

I considered the idea, checking the sky and the maps. "Well…we might just make it, but that's not a sure thing. And if we did, that's all we'd be doing today. Not sure how well your feet would take that much hiking. And besides," I pulled her close, "There are other things we could explore this afternoon instead."

Bella melted against me. "Hmmm, that might be nice."

"Might be?" Quickly, I picked her up with a lift and turn move that had her against my chest before she could blink. Taking example from the magazine tips I'd read, I claimed Bella's mouth possessively and devoured her. Rather than protest, Bella was making moans and whimpers that only encouraged me. Her legs dangled before she exerted some effort to lift them and lock her feet behind my back. Automatically, one of my arms supported her back while the other moved underneath her butt to hold her up. I couldn't help an experimental squeeze. It made Bella squirm against me, tossing her head to release a violets-and-something fragrance. The movement made me repeat the gesture, and a cycle of touch and sense began. The buzz of an insect reminded me where we were, and that we needed to back things off just now. The meadow might be flat, but there were bugs, we didn't have a blanket, and we couldn't be absolutely sure that a hunter or hiker might not stumble across us. The comments from maybe-Paul on the chance of getting caught being a thrill notwithstanding, neither Bella nor I was ready for anything like that.

"Practice really does make perfect, doesn't it?" I mused while letting Bella get her feet back on the ground.

"Hmmm?" Bella murmured.

"I think we might want to take a break. We're getting a little too good at that," I offered.

"Yeah, maybe we are. This might not be the best place. I don't think I'm this much of an outdoors girl."

"Me, either."

"Certainly not," Bella huffed. "We wouldn't have been doing that if you were. Leah didn't swing that way, and I don't think you do, either."

"What?" she totally had me confused with that statement.

Bella moved to the backpack I'd set down when we first arrived and started unloading the food. While she worked, she explained how Leah had given her some good advice—and that comment—when Bella had asked for some advice weeks back. Since that advice had led to Bella giving us a chance, I promised myself to express my thanks to Leah the next time I had the chance.

Thoughts of our respective advisors led me to ask, "Anyone else give you tips?"

"Jessica and Angela—don't worry, I keep things as unspecific as I can. But they've been really good friends this summer. I'm mad at myself for how I let Edward and his family pull me away from them in the beginning."

"I'm sure they're just as glad as you are for the second chance." In the interests of our relationship honesty policy, I mentioned my anonymous magazine delivery person from last night—at which Bella was just as baffled as I was—and led her to describe the very embarrassing chat she'd had with her mother, and the upcoming magazine subscription she'd be receiving.

"You've got a unique mom," was my only comment.

"And don't I know it. Jess has given me a few issues lately, so I know what it's like. I think it'll be interesting—and useful—but I'm not sure what my dad will say if he sees one. If he was embarrassed with my prescription, I don't want the Cosmo issues to give him a heart attack or anything."

"I think they have to keep the covers fairly tame to display them in the grocery store, so Charlie might be safe. But maybe you can just avoid the problem all together. You get home before he does, right?"

"Yeah. I'm always the one bringing the mail inside. Thanks."

We ate our early lunch sitting on some rocks, before starting the trip down to where we'd left my bike. I had to force myself not to push the pace too much. Bella' had done great not getting hurt on the way up, and I didn't want the trek back to change things—I had too many ideas for activities back at Bella's house, and an injury to my girlfriend wasn't on the list.

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Jake POV

With some begging and pleading, I finally got the okay to go up and see Bella today. Both Sam and my dad insisted that someone go with me, just in case tempers got out of control. I was getting to the point where I would agree to anything to be able to go, so Jared's presence was easy to accept.

"So what's your plan?" Jared asked as we drove to Forks crammed into my little Rabbit.

"Uh..." I wasn't sure that I actually had one beyond getting up there and making sure that Bella would listen to me. Plus, I was distracted by driving past Embry's house and checking for signs that he was there. His bike wasn't visible, but he usually kept it in the garage or the shed so that didn't necessarily mean anything. His mom's car was gone, too. With any luck, they were off doing stuff like they had been yesterday.

"Okay, you've got to have a plan. Maybe start with groveling, and a better apology than those phone messages. At least, that's what I'd recommend."

"What, so I shouldn't just look at her first thing?"

"I'm not sure she'd be looking back at you then. If you lay the apology on thick-and mean it-then she'll probably look your way again and you can actually make eye contact this time."

"Then what, o Beta?"

"Well, once you two are coherent again, it might not be a bad thought to start by telling her those stories again, and then lead into you knowing now that they're real-and that she knows they're real, too."

"And if she insists on proof?"

"Imprints get to know all about us, so if she wants to know, then you'll need to show her. The backyard would work, I guess, if there's enough cover. Just inside the woods if there isn't."

I took a deep breath and thought about it logically. Jared had actually offered a pretty good plan for things. "Sounds worth a shot."

The first complication appeared when Bella's driveway came into view. While it wasn't a surprise that Charlie's cruiser was gone, the car that was sitting in the driveway was a surprise: a sleek gray Honda Accord.

"What the-?" I muttered, swinging the Rabbit in behind this strange car.

"This belong to one of her friends?" Jared asked.

"No." I looked closer. "That's the license plate off the truck," I realized. The obvious conclusion was that Bella had gotten the car to replace her truck. But how? She didn't really know much about vehicles, and she'd never taken me up on my offer to help...

"Damn," I growled. It had to be Embry. He'd hung around me for years, and probably picked up a lot-enough to help her narrow things down. And once we got out of my car, his scent was all over and around Bella's new car.

It was then that both Jared and I realized something else: it was way too quiet here. There were no sounds coming from inside the house to show that anyone was there.

"Where is she?" I muttered, heading for the porch and trying to peer through a non-existent gap in the curtains.

Jared didn't answer-but he didn't have to. It was a sure bet that she was with Embry again, probably using his bike. Surprised me a little that Charlie was okay with that, him being a cop and all, and especially now that Bella had a vehicle again.

"Sorry, Jake," Jared offered. "Try again later, I guess." He watched me carefully, checking to see if I was going to lose it. But I took my frustration and envisioned choking it. Wolfing out in Bella's front yard wasn't an option; neither was trashing her new car the way I'd done to her truck.

"Sure, sure," I bit out, stalking back to my car. Still, before I headed for home, I took a swing through town just to see if I could spot Embry's bike. Probably to Jared's relief, I didn't, so with reluctance I turned us back toward home.

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Bella POV

I was disappointed that we hadn't found the meadow today, but was proud of myself for managing the hike and not coming back injured.

"Gah, I feel so icky," I complained.

"Could always take a shower," suggested Embry. "You still look gorgeous, though, ick or no ick."

I looked down at my sweat-stained, dirt-spotted shirt doubtfully.

Embry stepped up in front of me and used one hand to lift my chin. "You always look beautiful." The fire blossoming in his eyes both excited and scared me. The latter sent me scurrying to the bathroom to shower and try to collect myself. My haste, however, meant that I'd gone in without a change of clothes. So I was faced with either putting back on my dirty clothes-and undoing the cleansing effect of the shower-or dashing the few feet to my bedroom wrapped in my towel. I figured it would be safe enough with Embry downstairs. It wasn't until I reached my doorway that I realized Embry _hadn't_ gone back downstairs, but was sitting on the bench underneath my window. A second glance at his bare chest and damp hair made me think he must have gone downstairs and washed up in the kitchen sink, and then made it back up here before I was done. His eyes ignited when he saw me and his chest began to rise and fall noticeably with his breathing.

My mind started to tell me that I should feel embarrassed but I stopped that in its tracks. I had a decent body that I didn't need to be ashamed of. And besides that, Embry had shown me all of himself and never given any sign that he didn't want to do it. Didn't I owe him as much? But really, it wasn't that I felt I owed him, but that I wanted to give this to him. Though, come to think of it, he'd actually seen most of me yesterday—everything except what my panties had covered. Was it a big deal for me to bare myself completely to this man I thought I was coming to love—probably already did?

So I paused and looked up at him through my eyelashes. "Do you like what you see?" I asked, even though the near-instant tenting of his shorts answered the question anyway.

"Oh, yeah, I like what I see," Embry's voice rumbled in his chest. "I like seeing anything you show me."

"And if I show you everything?"

He stood up and started pacing toward me with an almost animal-like grace. "Oh, I'd like. Would you like to show me?"

I nodded and started walking again, stopping next to my bed. Thankfully, my windows were on the side and back of the house, so trees blocked my windows from view—but I wasn't going to take any chances. This was for Embry and not for anyone else. Though, at the moment, his eyes were closed and his lips moving silently. I used his moment of distraction to settle onto my bed on my side. When I looked up again, Embry was looking at me, that glow once again present in his dark eyes. Slowly, I lifted the edge of the towel and brought it up and over my body until it was lying on the bed and hanging off the side. It was like I was a present being unwrapped for Embry-and he certainly seemed to act like it. My boyfriend sank to his knees in an almost reverential motion, didn't speak but only looked. A habitual hint of nervousness at the unknown made my hand flex against the towel. Forestalling what he probably assumed was my move to replace the towel, Embry scooted forward across the floor until he was next to the bed. His hand laid over mine, squeezed, and then started tracing up my arm, along my collarbone, and up my neck and face. Embry leaned over and kissed me slowly and thoroughly.

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Embry POV

I slowly lifted my head away from Bella's and simply looked at her. Her eyes were wide, lips parted, breathing deeply. I took my hands back to where they'd started and repeated my journey up her arms. This time, though, I didn't go up from her collarbones; instead, I went the other direction, over her chest until my hands covered her breasts again. Bella's respiration increased, pressing her breasts up into my touch over and over again. How much she liked it…how much I liked this…I pulled my hands away and gripped myself tightly in an attempt to keep myself under control.

"Embry?" Bella shifted up to lean on one arm and look at me. "Too much, huh?"

"I think we're really getting too good at this. And, I don't think we've got enough time to wash my shorts this afternoon."

"Then, take them off," she suggested practically. "Towels, sheets, shirts…they all wash."

I'm not sure which of us was more surprised at what Bella had said, but the idea was a good one. I stood up to strip of my shorts and boxers, and then remembered something in my pocket that might be an even better thought. Before dropping my clothes to the floor, I pulled out the wrapped condom I'd removed from the box this morning.

Bella watched wide-eyed as I put this element of my home practice to use in sliding the lubricated condom onto my rock-hard cock. Then she beckoned me closer again. Kneeling beside her bed once more, we regarded one another, before Bella spoke.

"I liked this," she grasped my hands and moved them back to her breasts. "I know you did, too."

"So you want me to touch you more here," and I put actions to words, circling and kneading. Bella moaned and her head fell backward into her pillow.

"There…anywhere," she gasped. It was exactly what I wanted, so I let one hand begin to move, drawing circles, zig-zags, and other random shapes. Bella writhed against me. "More," she breathed. I knew what we both wanted, but I perversely chose to torture us both by skipping down to start stroking her feet and up her legs, like I'd done with her arms. Bella began to thrash now, and the scent pervading my nostrils had me finally looking up from my task in search of the source. My own eyes widened this time at the sight of Bella's fingers between her legs, stroking through the next of dark curls there. Involuntarily, I leaned closer to watch, and got a stronger whiff of that smell as well—which I finally realized must be that of arousal.

"Do you want to be touched _there_, beautiful Bella?" My voice rumbled in my chest.

"Yes," Bella gasped. "Dreamed…"

"So have I," was my equally soft confession. While I wouldn't mind watching Bella get herself off the way she'd watched me do for myself, what I wanted even more right now was for me to be the one to make her fall apart. Again falling back on Paul's sticky note tips, I moved around to the end of the bed, shifted my hands to Bella's ankles, and pulled her down the bed closer to me. Before I released her legs, I pushed them to the side to open Bella up to my view. Her dark curls were glistening with moisture that I just had to touch. My hands tracked up the insides of her calves and thighs, which trembled under my touch. As my fingers replaced Bella's, the wetness seemed to increase. Each stroke only increased the trembling affecting both of us. I moved my fingers back and forth, up and down, over and over, until Bella began to gasp and her hips started to jerk up from the mattress, making my index finger slide just inside her.

"Oh, oh, oh," Bella cried out. My gaze shot upward to see her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth open. Then I saw—felt—my girlfriend fall apart. Her body clenched around my finger, making my balls tighten up in an automatic response. My free hand reached down to wrap around my cock, and my own hips began to jerk in imitation of Bella. The sight, feel, and scent around me made my orgasm erupt into the condom even as Bella's own began to ease. My forehead fell against the edge of the mattress and my breath escaped my chest in harsh uneven gasps.

"Even—better—than—my—dream," Bella's voice broke the haze in my brain.

I thought about trying to stand up, but quickly found that my knees were too shaky. So I resorted to crawling along the side of the bed. I pulled off the condom and dropped it into her trashcan, then pulled on my boxers and got myself up onto the side of her bed with just my arm-strength. Bella had managed to scoot herself back up the bed and was waiting for me.

"That was…amazing," Bella told me.

"You're amazing," I agreed. "Thank you."

"No, thank _you_," Bella rolled onto her side and rested her cheek against my chest. I blindly grabbed the towel and draped it over her so she wouldn't get cold. We lay on her bed for quite a while, not saying anything and not really needing to. Then Bella's fingers started to move, echoing what I'd done earlier, tracing over my chest. I nearly fell off the bed when her head shifted, and Bella's tongue stroked over my skin and nipple, making me shout.

"Good?" Bella asked, rhetorically.

"G-g-g-great," I sounded completely like the cereal commercial tiger, as my answer coincided with her repeating what she'd done. So I gave up trying to say anything, and closed my eyes, trying to lay still while she worshiped my chest and drew on my stomach with her free hand. I might have been content not to move for a long while, until my mind started to envision what it would be like to reverse things. Suddenly, tasting Bella this way was all I could think about—and all I wanted.

I flipped us over until I was the one leaning over her. I breathed on her nipple, then extended my tongue and flicked. Her nipple puckered up instantly and she gasped. I worshiped Bella in turn, first one breast and then the other, licking, sucking... Without truly being aware of it, my hand traveled down Bella's body once again.

"Do you want me to touch you again, Bella?" I purred, having lifted my lips from her breast to ask the question.

"Yes!"

Hearing that this was what she wanted, I did just that, multitasking my delivery of pleasure. But I clearly wasn't the only one to have done some studying. One of Bella's hands came to rest on my head, threading through my hair and making sure I didn't plan to go anywhere. Her other hand…it was only sheer luck that I didn't end up biting her when that other hand somehow closed around my renewed erection, squeezing and stroking me through my boxers. With all this incredible and mind-blowing stimulation, we both quickly tipped over the edge again.

For a time, the only sound in the bedroom was our breathing. Finally, I regained enough strength to sit up and then to stand.

"Embry?" Bella's voice queried.

"Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine. I'm just going to go and wash up and put my shorts back on," I bent to pick up said shorts, keeping my back to the bed.

"Why?"

I groaned at her obvious disappointment—in no small part because I shared it. "Bella, if we don't get dressed and out of this room, we aren't going to be leaving it for quite a while. And since I only brought the one condom, that might be a problem."

"Okay."

I quickly took care of everything I needed to in the bathroom and then headed downstairs to give Bella her own turn. A game was playing on the TV when she came downstairs to join me.

"Thank you," she said again.

"About what?"

"For being honest with me. Today…it was wonderful and…I don't even have the right words. It might be good for us to take a little time before we take that last step."

"Um. Yeah. Right. Well, I—um—thought it wouldn't be safe," I somehow got it out.

Bella sort of froze for a few seconds, and then started counting off with her fingers. "Oh, yeah." Her cheeks flushed. "I haven't been on the pill for a full week yet."

"I'll stock up, I promise. I do want this, Bella. You know that, right?"

"I know it," she agreed. "Just like you know that _I_ want this, don't you?"

"Yeah." I couldn't doubt it, not after the past few days.

"And there's something else you should know," Bella continued.

"What's that?" I asked, taking her hand in mine and rubbing our fingers together.

"That I love you."

My heart stuttered at her admission. "You do? Really?"

"Really. I didn't think I'd be ready for something like this so soon, but…it's you, Embry. You've helped me so much, you care so deeply. I love you."

"Ya bisapsi cux, Bella. I promise that I'll never make you regret this."

"Ya bisapsi cux, Embry," she made a good attempt at the pronunciation. I couldn't resist that, and kissed her again, resolutely keeping things tame.

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Bella POV

I was still riding my energy buzz long after Embry had left to go back home. A little of it might have been knowing we were likely to find Edward's meadow tomorrow-and I couldn't wait to stick it to my ex, however petty and unnoticed it would be. But most if it was thinking about what else we'd done today. It was appalling to be to consider just how drastically Edward had affected my self-image with his antiquated prudishness. Well, Embry had well and truly demolished that issue today. His reverential worship of practically every inch of me was a mental and emotional rush that I hoped wouldn't end anytime soon. The reality of his touch on me had so surpassed my own, that it was amazing I hadn't proven human combustion to be true. The question 'what next?' really didn't need to be asked, because really the only thing left was the Grand Slam that Embry had mentioned only yesterday.

But, was I ready for that? Were we? Embry and I had only been dating for a few weeks now. We were both still only seventeen-though with our respective 18th birthdays coming up during the senior year of high school that was about to begin. Did time really matter, though? Wasn't it more about what felt right, and when it felt that way? With a deep breath, I began to consider all the points of the issue. Did I want for Embry and I to be able to give this gift to each other, of being our respective firsts? Yes, I did. Did I want to have sex with Embry, even apart from the idea of him being my first? Yes, I did. Did I want everything to be with him, now and always? Yes, I did. But I also forced myself to consider the other side of things. Was I in any way using Embry as a rebound? Was I drawn to him because he pulled me close where Edward had always pushed me away? No and no. Like I'd told my parents and friends, Embry was an amazing guy, and one I was willing to let myself dream and believe really was the 'forever' type.

The ringing of my cell phone sent me scrambling to retrieve it. I smiled at the thought of Embry calling me as soon as he got home, and answered the call without looking at the display.

"Hello!"

"Bells!" The sound of Jake's unexpected voice emanating from the phone's speaker almost made me drop it.

"J-Jake," my voice held obvious disappointment.

"Not who you expected?" his voice responded in kind. I pulled the phone away to belated check the number that had called me-it was the same unfamiliar number I'd gotten all those calls from lately, the one that hadn't left any messages.

"Honestly, no, you're not. Why are you calling, Jake?"

"Can't a guy want to talk to his friend?"

"Are you? Are you my friend, Jake? 'Cause, frankly, you sure haven't been acting like it lately."

"Sheesh, I'm sorry, okay?"

"No. No, it isn't okay. Not what you did, or the crappy apologies, either," I was getting pretty worked up, so maybe my idea of avoidance had been the right one after all.

"I _am_ your friend, Bella. I didn't want to-all this stuff-I hated it."

"So why did you do it, Jake?"

"Tribal stuff...not stepping up when you're asked to just isn't an option. I didn't have a choice."

"No choice? And what about now? Do you suddenly have a choice again?"

Frustration was evident in Jake's tone as he burst out with, "Damn it. I finally get them to back off-give me the choice again-and this is what happens?"

"What did you expect was going to happen, Jacob?" My backbone was firm, my use of his full name giving evidence of my irritation. "Did you think you'd just apologize, and we'd pick up right where we left off with watching movies and hanging out and stuff?"

The silence on the other end of the call seemed to suggest I'd nailed it.

"It doesn't work that way, Jake. You hurt me-really hurt me with how you've been acting and not keeping your promises. And it's not just me, but Embry, too. Stuff like that isn't just going to be forgotten or forgiven. You say you're still my friend...well, you're going to have to prove it. Then we'll see."

"C'mon, Bells. I'm your Jake. You have to forgive me," he wheedled.

"No, you aren't. Maybe the Jake you used to be was, but the one now... And I don't have to do anything, actually."

"Bella-"

"No, Jake. You didn't hold up your end, so you've got no say in how I handle it now."

"Bella-"

"Jake, you really need to listen and not presume so much. Makes you seem a little too much like Edward and Alice in my mind, and that's not a good association to have anymore."

"I'm not like them!" he shouted.

"They tried to order me around, dictate things...I shouldn't have let them get away with it, and I won't let you do it now. Prove things, Jake. Then we'll see." And with that, I ended the call. I wasn't sexually buzzed anymore—I was incredibly frustrated now. How dare Jake just assume that I'd forgive him like nothing had happened? The conversation—if one could call it that—had let me vent my irritation, but hadn't covered nearly all of what I'd wanted to say to Jake. I hadn't even touched on how he seemed to be mad that Embry and I were a couple now, or how he wasn't trying to make things up with Embry like he was with me. Realizing I needed some kind of distraction, I headed downstairs to my kitchen sanctuary. Charlie was waiting for me.

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Narrator POV

Charlie had thought about his chat with Harry all afternoon. He didn't want to interfere with his daughter's decisions, but Harry had made a good point that Bella should make her ultimate decision on how she felt about Jake after giving him a chance to at least try and explain things. Maybe he'd bring it up tonight since she was in a good mood. Or at least she _had_ been in a good mood, Charlie realized. But that wasn't the case now, if her scowling expression and banging pans and cabinet doors were any indication.

"Something wrong, Bells?"

"Jake called again."

"Did you talk to him this time?"

"Yes. But I didn't mean to. I didn't check the display before I answered my phone—and the number wasn't familiar, anyway. I guess Billy must have finally gotten him a cell phone."

"I'm guessing the call didn't go well, did it?"

"Nope," Bella popped the 'p'. "He just went on and on about how it hadn't been his fault that he's been avoiding me lately, how he didn't like it, and to top it all off, how I've just _got_ to forgive him for all of it."

"Sheesh," Charlie snorted. "I know—having been one—that teenage guys aren't always the best thinkers, but that boy sure pushed every wrong button in one conversation, seems like."

"Pretty much. I don't like it, but I think I'll have to talk to him again. There's other stuff I meant to say to him and just didn't tonight."

"Sounds good. And Bells…"

"What?"

"Maybe you should give Jake a chance to explain things better. I'm not saying you should forgive him if he doesn't deserve it," he rushed on, "but you might not be able to decide that without hearing his side of it all."

"Are you trying to push me on that?" Bella looked suspicious.

"Nope. I just talked to Harry this afternoon, and it seemed like he wishes he'd pushed Leah to clear the air with Sam Uley, that it might have helped everyone if he had.

"I'll think about it," she hedged.

Figuring that she knew more about what was going on than he did, and that he'd done what he'd promised Harry, Charlie let the topic drop. As Bella began to cook something, Charlie abandoned the field in favor of watching a game.

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AN: I hope this came out alright. Let me know what you think. And I think I can safely promise (and mean it) that the next couple chapters are the ones that you've all been waiting so patiently—or perhaps not so patiently—to see for a while now.

Guest: Thank you. I think a lot of people are/would be surprised to think that those early bases still count as sexual, which is what I tried to show with what Embry said to his mom. Yes, Bella's mom is pretty excited, but she's not quite a typical mom, perhaps. Definitely Bella will want to keep Charlie from seeing those magazines once they start arriving in the mail—embarrassment for sure.

Guest: Sorry that this took longer than I hoped. Had to deal with the aftermath of spraining my foot, plus I absolutely had to get working on the one-shot for my winning bidder in the Tricky Raven site's recent artist/author silent auction.

Guest: I hate to think about making continuity mistakes, so I went back and checked the story. Yes, Bella did talk to her mom back in chapter 22, but that was to say that she and Embry had just become a couple and had their first date. This call was a bit different, as Bella was now telling Renee that she and Embry are a serious couple. Little bit different. Also, Bella's agreement to Charlie to call Renee might have been humoring him-don't think we know whether or not she'd mentioned to him about the earlier call to her mom or not. And Renee's questions about stuff Bella had already mentioned...she is rather flaky in this one, so she just might have forgotten that her daughter told her some of that stuff before.

Congrats to MissEllen for being review #650 on FF.


	34. Grand Slam

Jana: Thanks so much for considering me your favorite author. I'm flattered and honored. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the chapter, and have to smile that I rendered you speechless.

Guest(s): Glad you liked it. Hope this came soon enough.

Husna: Yeah, that foreplay was pretty hot. And that was just buildup to the main event. Just saying. Jake certainly hasn't handled things as well as he could/should have, and Bella's not making it easy on him, either. She's not stupid and can see when someone is feeding her BS. You're right that forgiveness has to be earned, and Jake hasn't done that. Meeting is almost here, and then we'll see how Jake handles the reality of the current situation.

Credit to Debbie Collins on Tricky Raven for suggesting Meatloaf's song "Paradise on the Dashboard" as being very descriptive of Bella and Embry's current status, baseball allusion and all. Thanks as well to mc7575 and Feebes86 for their help in idea-bouncing and tweaking of a couple chapter segments.

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Bella POV

I woke up feeling less rested than I would have liked. But the very vivid dreams I'd had last night might explain that, and the fact that my body, pajamas, and sheets were all sweaty. Embry and I seemed to be in a cycle where our activities influenced our dreams which affected our activities. I wasn't complaining, but it could easily become overwhelming if I let myself over-think it. But that was something I was trying hard not to do. Leah had been so right in saying that Embry would look after me—after both of us—and her advice to do what felt right had been more than pleasurable. Pleasure...I began to feel once more that feeling of arousal I was growing ever more familiar with as I remembered yesterday—most specifically Embry saying that if he'd had more than one condom with him, that we probably would have gone further than we had, even for that baseball-referencing 'Grand Slam'.

As I spent a long time in the bathroom, in a more involved morning routine than usual, I thought about Embry. It amazed me how special and important he'd become to me over this summer, starting with that first day where he'd saved me from a tumble down the stairs and tricked me into that eating contest. Maybe that old saying about watching out for the quiet ones had truth to it: Embry had somehow inserted himself into my life in ways that I didn't understand even as I enjoyed them. He was so caring but not weak, calm yet intense, and sexy above all. Maybe that was something else we'd each given the other in recent weeks: self-confidence, and the powerful awareness of being wanted. And I did want Embry. I wanted him in ways and to a depth that Edward had never ever evoked in me. I had thought I'd loved my vampire...but I hadn't known what love really was. With Embry, I did. He'd learned—or known instinctively—something that Edward hadn't been able to grasp after over a century: how to say 'no' and 'not yet' without making me feel lessened for having asked. And now those answers had become 'yes' and 'soon', and was about to be 'now'. Perhaps even today, which explained why I was currently spending so much time shaving, applying lotion, and giving my hair an extra conditioning treatment. If it did happen, I wanted to be ready on the outside like I now was on the inside.

Prepped for my day-whatever it might hold-I pulled some food together, including the cookies I'd made last night in my temper-cooling cook-fest. Embry arrived just as I finished. As soon as he was inside, he had me pushed against the wall, lifted up to a height convenient for the intense kisses he began to deliver and that I quickly started to return.

I writhed against Embry, seeking _something._ He groaned, let me reconnect with the floor, and flipped away from me to rest against the wall at my side.

"Fuck, Bella," he swore, breathing deeply several times. "If we're going out looking for that meadow again, we need to do it _now_, or we won't be leaving this house _at all_ today."

It was obvious what Embry meant, and I did think about it. It was very tempting to just stay and see what happened, but I'd had this idea of finding the meadow in my head for a while now, and I just really wanted the satisfaction of knowing that I'd taken my new boyfriend to Edward's favorite sanctuary. And if said boyfriend and I happened to engage in some relationship affirmation that would thoroughly scandalize a prudish vampire, then so much the better.

"Delayed gratification is said to be quite rewarding," I commented. "And considering how we unwound after _not_ finding the meadow yesterday…after we do see it today…"

"Guess we'll see, won't we? Are you ready to leave?"

"I've just got to get the water bottles out of the fridge. If you'd like…Charlie does have an air mattress up in the attic for those long fishing trips he takes…" I trailed off, waiting to see what Embry would do with the hinting reminder.

"I'll be right back," and he vanished up the stairs. Soon, the sound of the mattress' motor drifted down to me; Embry was clearly setting the airbed up now. Within minutes, we were out the door and on his bike again for the trip out of town.

Much like yesterday, I handled the hiking part of our expedition much better than I would have expected. Not that I was complaining about being more coordinated than usual. I didn't remember the route, but then again the only times I'd ever traveled it had been on the back of a speeding vampire, and trying to look at anything while he'd carried me would just have given me motion sickness. But between our advance work and Embry's skills in the woods, we ended up approaching an area that somehow seemed familiar. Holding hands, we stepped out of the trees into an open meadow—into _Edward's_ meadow. The early spring flowers of my last visit had exploded into a full summer profusion of color and scent.

"Is this it?" Embry asked.

I nodded.

"Guess it would be a nice place to come and visit, but…this was seriously his favorite place to come and be alone?"

"Yeah."

"Man, he must've really needed the isolation. This is a heck of a long hike even from their place north of Forks."

"They really liked hiking and camping and stuff. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen pulled their kids out of school all the time for family trips—at least, that's what Jessica said once."

"Lucky."

"I guess so. All of them were adopted as teenagers, and with the others all paired off like they were, Edward probably did need a place they wouldn't find him easily."

Further conversation was forestalled by both of our rumbling stomachs. Embry pulled a light picnic cloth out of the backpack, and we settled onto it to enjoy the lunch I'd packed. Bites of food were interspersed with kisses and cuddles. The warm sun shone down from a clear sky, heating my blood like water slowly being brought to a boil. I'd only just begun to wonder if Embry had a condom in his pocket again, when his body stiffened next to mine.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. I thought I heard something, or someone," Embry jumped to his feet and pulled me up after him.

I looked around, trying to catch whatever Embry had noticed. Suddenly, I did—and my heart stopped. On the other side of the meadow, a figure with long dark dreadlocks had seemingly appeared out of thin air. It was someone I knew, but hadn't expected or wanted to ever see again. In contrast to the golden leather jacket and jeans he'd worn the first time, he had a plum-colored suit jacket and dress pants on this time. The big difference from the last time I'd seen him was that one sleeve on the jacket had been cut away at the shoulder—not needed since there wasn't an arm there. And when he used vampire speed to move closer in the instant between one blink and the next, I saw that his eyes were the same crimson color as before.

_But he's supposed to be with the vegetarians in Alaska…_ I tried to puzzle it out. _He told the Cullens he wanted to try the lifestyle. His eyes ought to be yellow._ But they weren't. So either the Alaskans had fallen off the wagon, or Laurent had. Either way, it was very bad news for both me and for Embry. And I cursed myself for having the damn-fool idea of finding this meadow in the first place.

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Narrator POV

The pack had been spread out across a good portion of the Olympic Forest when Paul had skidded to a stop and thrown back his head in a howl. _Bloodsucker!_

_Which_ _one? More than one? Do you know it? _Sam was instantly hard-focused.

_Just dreadlocks. Just him._

_Track it,_ the Alpha ordered. _Everyone, sweep in. _

The four other wolves were instantly on the move, using their mental link to hone in on Paul's location and the threat they were designed to eliminate.

_Whew. It's getting really strong,_ Quil grimaced.

_Wait! What's that?_ Jake's voice carried a growing note of panic. The others cast about with their senses, and caught other scents besides that of the vampire, and both familiar and unfamiliar voices.

"I went to the Cullens' place. I was surprised to find them gone. Weren't you something of a pet of theirs?" the unknown voice asked, with a tone right out of an episode of "Swamp People".

"Something like that," Bella's voice admitted.

"Do they visit often?" he asked next

"Why are you asking me that, Laurent? You moved in with their cousins the last I heard. Why wouldn't they have told you the Cullens moved to Los Angeles?" Bella scoffed.

The wolves crept to the edge of the forest, still unnoticed by those standing in the middle of the meadow.

_Sam!_ Jake mentally screamed. _He's gonna—_

_We don't know what he's going to do. It's obvious she knows him somehow._

"Ah, well, I actually moved on a few months ago," the vampire sighed with obviously false regret. "We just didn't turn out to be compatible housemates."

"That's too bad," Bella offered, seeming to edge close to panic with each passing moment, and just as clearly trying to hide it. "But I guess sometimes things just don't work out. Like me and Edward, for instance. He moved, and I've moved on."

"What?" the leech, Laurent, sounded surprised. "But he was—"

Embry spoke for the first time. "He was an idiot who didn't appreciate what he had. Believe me, I won't be making that mistake. And who exactly are you and what are you doing here?"

"You have moved on?" confusion still filled the vampire's voice; he seemed focused completely on Bella, and didn't even acknowledge Embry or his questions. "He is your mate, Bella."

"That's a load of crap," she denied. "If I meant that much to him, would he have moved over a thousand miles away?"

"If he'd cared," added Embry, "he wouldn't have destroyed her the way he did. Like Bella said, she's moved on—with me."

Laurent sighed heavily. "This is unfortunate. I'm afraid that Victoria isn't going to like this. And I'm sorry to say that I don't think she'll believe you, dear Bella. She is convinced that you are Edward Cullen's mate. What did he say to make you think otherwise?"

"Well, the whole 'I don't want you anymore, you're no good for me' and then abandoning me in the middle of the forest at night were pretty big clues, I'd say," she retorted.

"He lied, then. You will be his mate for as long as you both exist. And she is counting on that."

"Victoria?" Bella gasped. "Why would she care whether or not Edward and I are together?"

"What the hell is going on here? Who's Victoria, and why does she care about Edward's ex-girlfriend?" Embry spoke to the vampire again.

"I actually came here as a favor to her. She wants revenge. You see, Bella, Victoria blames Edward for the death of her mate, James, and she will kill you slowly and painfully so that he suffers as much as she does." He was now standing very close to the teens. "But, I can promise to kill you more quickly than Victoria would. She won't be happy about me killing you." He didn't seem too regretful about the idea. "Regrettably, young man, you seem to be in the wrong place and with the wrong girl, which is unfortunate for you as well."

"So because she's got a 'woman scorned' thing going on here, she sent you to try and kill Bella? How screwed up is that?" Embry scoffed. "And honestly, what does that say about you? The two of you must be really good _friends_ if you drop everything to come here and check on things."

Bella picked up the distraction game then. "Are you sure she isn't testing you? I mean, all you'd have had to do was make nice with those Alaskan cousins of the Cullen family again to find out that they moved away from here at the beginning of the summer. 'Not happy with you' is probably going to be an understatement. Are you sure it's worth it?"

"You are so tempting, Bella. Yes, you just might be worth risking Victoria's anger."

_See, Sam! He's going to kill her. He's going to kill Bella! _Jake was almost beyond any control or restraint.

_Embry doesn't deserve to die, either! Come on! They won't be able to keep distracting him for much longer_, Quil begged.

_Move in._

The pack stepped out from the cover of the forest, flanking their Alpha to either side. The trio in the meadow all seemed to see the wolves at the same moment.

_Impossible,_ Laurent gasped.

Both Bella and Embry stood frozen and speechless.

_Get her out of here, idiot_, Jake screamed at Embry, in that moment not caring that he was sending his soon-to-be imprint away with his rival. _Run!_

In the next instant, everyone was moving. Laurent shot away to the side, racing to escape the encircling pack of wolves. The wolves put on speed and tore after the vampire. And Embry grabbed Bella's hand, turned, and ran hard.

_Try to kill __**my**__ Bella?_ Jake demanded. _Like hell you will. This ends now._

In a synchronous movement, the five wolves of the La Push pack tore across the meadow after the fleeing vampire.

_Paul, Jared, swing around to each side and we'll flank him. Quil, Jake, keep on his heels. Don't give him the chance to get into the trees again. _Sam shot out orders. The wolves pounded through the trees, intent on catching this vampire once and for all. He wasn't quite as crazy good as the redhead, but sheer panic made him pretty inventive just the same—and the missing arm meant one less way that a wolf could grab hold of him.

_Don't let him get close to the water._

_Watch it! Nothing fancy, just run him down._

Finally, after they'd chased him more than halfway across the state, Jared got a lucky grip around the leech's dreadlocks and jerked him right off his feet, sending him flying through the air into the jaws of Jake and Paul. Two violent tugs later, and Laurent was a pile of vampire parts. Sam phased back human and pulled out a lighter from his ankle pouch, directing Quil to check to ensure they hadn't missed any of the pieces.

"Kill Bella?" a now-human Jacob hissed at the bloodsucker. "You are about to burn. You'll never be a threat to her ever again."

The pack watched in silence as the vampire was incinerated into a cloud of sickening purple smoke. Once he was completely gone, and the area checked for any fire risk, the Alpha ordered his wolves to head for home.

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Embry POV

From Bella trying to kill me with pleasure earlier, to this strange sparkling black guy telling me I was really about to die, this day was going downhill fast. I figured out pretty quick that Bella had met this guy sometime with the Cullens. I had no idea who this Victoria he mentioned was, but the way he kept calling my Bella the 'mate' of that bastard Cullen-like they were bound together somehow-just pissed me off. And how exactly was he planning to kill us? He didn't have a gun that I could see, so what was his plan? I was only seventeen—I didn't want to die yet, especially not at the hands of some crazy person. The whole idea made me mad. But mixed in with my anger was fear.

_People don't sparkle, not unless they took a glitter shower. Maybe this guy swings that way-look at how he's dressed-but I don't think so. _My mind started gibbering with random crap. The way he talked, how fast he moved...everything about him screamed 'wrong'. A smell like a combination of rotten bleach and burnt sugar flooded my nostrils, making me want to gag. The crazy hungry look in his blood red eyes—_who wears contacts like those unless they're dressed up like a vampire forHalloween?_—made me shiver. _Fast, crazy, evil, killer…can't be. Not real._

Bella was getting freaked out by all of this, and so was I. And then, as if things couldn't possibly get any worse, they did. A pack of massive horse-sized wolves emerged from the forest. Now I _knew_ we were about to buy the farm. _No wolves get that big! Hell, I don't want to die a virgin!_ My body was shaking, my pores were oozing sweat, and my mind was completely blank of any escape plans-what was the point? Besides, I knew enough about wolves to know that running was probably the worst idea a person could come up with. Wolves were predators, and predators loved nothing better than easy prey, like a runner.

The wolves seemed to be ignoring Bella and me, though. Their dark eyes were focused on whoever—whatever—this Laurent guy was. All except one wolf: a reddish one who looked at Bella possessively—_how__ can a wolf look at someone possessively?_-and then at me with a 'what the hell are you still standing around here for?' look in his gaze—eyes that somehow, impossibly looked familiar. _I must be going crazy! Why am I thinking that a wolf has eyes just like Jake's?_ As insane as it was to be taking advice from an animal, running seemed like a good idea if we had a shot of getting away. Just then, we got just that: the sparkly black guy took off in a blur, and I grabbed Bella and started to run, backpack and blanket forgotten. Snarls and howls behind us made me hope that the wolves really were on our side and that the crazy guy wouldn't be chasing us down.

Panic gave me super-human speed-or at least that's how it felt. Quicker than I thought, and yet not soon enough, we were back where we'd parked my bike. I tore my pocket yanking my key out, and it took a few attempts to get it in the ignition with how badly I was shaking.

"Don't let go," I ordered Bella, and opened the throttle up full.

My chest heaved and I really had to concentrate hard to keep the bike firmly on the road and getting us out of there. By the time we got back to Forks, I'd barely calmed down at all. The rotation of the tires on my bike had kept a refrain of 'you could have died', 'Bella could have died', 'you're virgins', on an endless cycle in my brain. And that wolf...the echoes of Jake were enough to make me get pissed off again. Coming to a stop in Bella's driveway, only habit and pride in my bike kept me from letting it drop as I swung off, bringing Bella with me. The second we were inside the house, I had her sandwiched between my body and the wall again, devouring her with fear-fueled lust.

"We almost died today," I growled. "Him-them-we almost died. I don't know what that was, but _we almost died._"

"I know," Bella shook against me. "I don't want to die. I want..."

"What do you want, Bella?"

"I want you. Us. Everything."

At that, I ran up the stairs, Bella held tightly against my chest.

Setting her down on the floor of her bedroom next to the air mattress, I felt an equal mixture of anticipation, lust, and nerves-emotions Bella seemed to be sharing. Things had been building up to this practically from day one, we both wanted this, yet it still felt like we were about to take a flying leap off a really tall cliff. All the research in the world couldn't really prepare for the reality.

"'Even the longest journey must begin where you stand'," Bella seemed to be quoting something.

It seemed to be good advice, especially now. I bent over and kissed her again, more gently than I'd done downstairs. The soft contact of our lips and tongues segued into equally careful caresses of hands over arms, shoulders, and sides. Shirts were hindrances to be pulled off and tossed away without thought. I pushed her gently to sit on her bed and bent down to remove her boots and socks. Bella herself lay back and lifted her hips off the bed to allow her jeans to be pulled off as well. Viewing her nearly naked form had me leaning over her for more contact. Bella's foot dangled over the edge of the bed and brushed against my hip.

"One of us is decidedly overdressed," she announced.

With a growl of-agreement, irritation, I didn't know what-I reared backward, stood up, and quickly stripped off my remaining clothing. Bella matched me and also got to her feet. My head started to roll backward and my heart to pound when Bella's small hands spread wide over my stomach and then up to my chest. She pressed a kiss to my skin while one of her hands rested over my heart.

"I want you," Bella repeated what she'd told me downstairs.

"And I want you," I replied. "I think I always have, and I know I always will." My hands covered hers, claimed them, and used the contact to pull her the few steps to the air mattress, steadying Bella on her way down. I stayed on my feet, retrieving the small handful of condom wrappers from my abandoned jeans. "Just in case," my lips quirked apologetically.

Bella watched intently as I rolled the condom over my steel-rod of a cock and then eased down onto the mattress next to her. Facing each other on our sides, we flowed together, a hand on each of our backs encouraging full contact. When Bella's hand drifted down to stroke and then squeeze my butt, my body reflexively bucked up into her. I could feel-and I swear, smell-her reaction to that. My hand shifted down and around to rest between her legs. She was already wet, but I wanted her even wetter first. If Paul's tips were trustworthy—which they had been so far—it would be ever better if I could make her come first, before we had sex. So I trailed my fingers through her curls, along the damp folds that beckoned me into her. After rubbing over her clit, I let my fingers follow that summons, dipping just insider her, rubbing, pressing...Bella's hips began to move, her internal muscles starting to clench around my digits. I looked up then, to see her eyes staring back at me, as wide open as the 'o' of her mouth.

"Oh, oh, OH!" and she tipped over the edge.

I couldn't wait to follow suit, and shifted up onto my hands and knees and moving until I was straddling her prone form.

"I'll be as gentle as I can," I promised. "Tell me if I need to stop or wait or anything, okay?" I hoped her head bob was a nod of agreement, because my body was telling me I needed to do something, and soon. I used one hand to guide my covered cock to the juncture of Bella's legs, and to stroke back and forth through her moisture. Then, slowly and carefully, I started to ease inside, moving just a fraction at a time. _"Never, ever, under any circumstances, use the band-aid method the first time. Take it slow and easy. Watch her and feel her; she'll show you what she needs even if she can't say it."_ The advice I'd been given guided my movements. I pulled back, then in again, back and forth, until I came up against a barrier. I knew I'd have to just push through, but I hated making Bella hurt, even if just for a few seconds.

"Sorry," the word whispered out of my lips. I pulled back one more and pushed in harder, all the way in, breaking through the proof that I was the first—intended to be the only—man with her. A cry of pain escaped Bella's lips, and a pair of tears tracked down her cheeks. As I'd promised, I froze instantly, my body weight anchoring her to the bed. Bella's hands dug into my arms, and breaths hissed through her lips. I lifted my torso up slightly and moved my hand to tip Bella's head so that I could claim her mouth again. My tongue in her mouth echoed our other physical joining, trying to spin us both higher and above any pain. It seemed to work, as Bella began to try and rub against me.

"O-o-k-kay," she managed. "Try..." And I retreated a little, then advanced into her again, starting slow and then moving faster and faster, coming almost all the way out and then pushing all the way back in. With each stroke, the discomfort was farther and farther removed from Bella's eyes and face. Remembering how good it had felt for both of us before, my fingers again found their way between Bella's legs to caress her. Feeling my touch on her skin just where my cock was pumping in and out of her body truly ignited an inferno in me-and in Bella as well. She began to jerk underneath me, and the vise-like tightening of her muscles around my cock...Bella screamed my name as she exploded into orgasm. Feel, sound, sight...everything was a white blur to me. The grip my Bella had upon my body almost instantly bucked me into her one final time before my own orgasm erupted into the condom and my shout into the air. My lungs were empty and my limbs boneless; I collapsed down onto the mattress-onto Bella-as complete dead weight.

Time was irrelevant while we both attempted to process what had just happened. I would never regret that we had taken our time getting to this milestone in our relationship, but now that I knew what this was really like, I couldn't help but think _If I'd __**known**__ how good this was going to feel_, _there's no way we would have waited this long._ Belatedly realizing that I had to be squashing my girlfriend, I locked my arms and legs and carefully eased my softening cock up out of her body, going onto my knees to pull off the condom and toss it into the nearby trashcan.

Bella hadn't moved from her spot on the mattress, other than to wince a little when I'd pulled out. Somehow I managed to get to my feet, and walked naked out of her room to the bathroom. I grabbed a couple wash clothes, used one to swiftly wipe myself clean, and ran the other under warm water to take back to Bella. I didn't interrupt the silence in her bedroom as I ran the damp cloth gently over her face, neck, breasts, stomach, and finally between her legs. She flinched away from even that light contact of the rag against her sensitive opening. The blood that came away on the rag told me why, and I felt terrible again that I'd hurt her, even unwillingly.

"I'm sorry, Bella," my words were barely a whisper.

"Why?" she murmured. "Why are you sorry?"

"I hurt you. I didn't mean to, but-"

She opened her eyes and looked down the length of her body to where I sat crouched, still naked, between her legs. "I knew it would hurt some—the books and magazines were right about that. But you did everything right, Embry. You waiting until I was comfortable to start moving again, you _touched_ me, looked after me...it was wonderful. I didn't really understand what it would be like."

"So, you liked it?" I carefully relocated to my former spot next to her on the mattress.

A soft smile. "I did. I'll need some time before we do that again, I think, but I liked it. I'm humbled and amazed that you wanted to share this with me."

"And you, with me. You're the only girl I've ever dreamed of being with this way." After a pause, I continued, "I don't want this to come out wrong, but...what now?"

"I don't think I'm up to doing anything at all," Bella confessed. "With everything today, I'm almost too sore to move."

Today. Now that the post-sex haze was starting to clear, everything that had led up to it flooded back into my mind. It was almost too much to handle-pretty much like coming inside Bella had been. We'd talked some about the one; did we want to talk about the other now? So I asked.

"Do you want to?" she turned the question back on me.

"I know we need to," I began, "but I'm not sure how. There's just too much to process, and my brain just got turned to mush."

"Later tonight, or tomorrow?" Bella suggested.

"Tomorrow. This way I can think about it all tonight and figure out what my questions ought to be."

"I'll tell you everything I can," she promised. "And I wasn't deliberately trying to hide it from you up till now-so much of it is things that aren't mine to share."

"I believe you," I assured her. "We'll talk tomorrow. As for the rest of today..."

"Can we just stay here for a little while," then she giggled, "or maybe up on the bed-I think we gave this air mattress quite a beating, because it's going flat."

"Then it died in a good cause," I shrugged, but scooted off the mattress all the same and picked Bella up to move her. I made sure she was covered by the bedsheet and crawled up next to her.

"Mmm," Bella sighed, snuggling close. "You're like a hot water bottle or a heating pad. It feels good to me...but are you okay?"

"I feel fine. Better than fine, honestly."

"Not to mention smug, right?"

"Well..." I dropped a kiss on her temple, and rested one hand over her belly.

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Bella POV

I probably could have stayed right there forever and been happy. But my body's soreness needed something more than Embry's heated hand could provide.

"I think I might feel better if I soaked in the tub for a while."

"That sounds good. I'll let you do that and head on home."

"Why?"

"Time to think, remember? Plus, I don't think I'd have a prayer of being around your dad tonight and keeping what we did this afternoon off my face."

"Argh," my head tried to burrow into my pillow. I'd completely forgotten about that. Was my dad going to be able to tell that I wasn't a virgin anymore? He wasn't stupid, and every always said that my face was an open book. If Embry was concerned about spilling the secret himself, then I probably ought to be terrified. "Okay," I sighed. "I guess you're right."

Embry seemed to know what had me worried now. "Hey, I'm going to end up facing my parent, too, regardless of when I go home. We'll just have to tell them both-only if the topic comes up-that we're both old enough and responsible enough to make this decision, and that we took care of precautions a while ago." He seemed to be trying to convince himself as much as me, but I appreciated the gesture anyway.

"Alright. You'd better go before we get busted."

"I'll get your bath running and then head out."

Alone in my house, I sank into the tub with an audible moan. Cuddling with Embry had been really good, but this literally hit the spot just now. I soaked in the scented bubble-covered water until it started to cool, then climbed out of the tub with another groan, and got dressed in a new outfit. Grabbing my dirty clothes, and the sheets from the air mattress and my bed, I started the laundry after treating the small blood spots with stain remover. As I worked, my mind drifted back to the meadow, the events there, and just what I could possibly say to Embry about it all. That I would have to say something wasn't in question, but the specifics...

A loud and lengthy hammering on the front door jolted me from my thoughts. I walked to answer it, proud of myself that I wasn't showing any discomfort. I threw the door open and stared at the back of my unexpected visitor. Even without seeing his face, I knew who this had to be.

"Jacob." My voice was as flat as it had been last night when he'd caught me on the phone. I looked past him and spotted Quil and Paul standing down on the edge of the driveway and front yard.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Bells?" Jacob had turned back around while I'd been looking at his friends.

"Why did you avoid me?"

"Bells, it-"

"Jacob Black, if you're planning on saying anything like you did last night, about how it wasn't your fault, or you didn't want to do it, or how I _have_ to forgive you, then please, save your breath and me the irritation. My answer is the same now as then: it was, you did, and I don't. All you're proving is that you still don't understand and that nothing has changed."

His hands-which I was watching instead of looking up at him-clenched briefly into fists before deliberately relaxing.

"Okay, maybe you're right. But, Bells, you're not gonna know what's been going on unless you let me actually explain it-then you'll understand. Will you give me a chance?"

I sighed heavily. I didn't really want to, not on top of everything else I'd been through today, but my dad had had a good point that I wouldn't be able to justly decide if Jake deserved forgiveness or not unless I actually heard him out. "Fine." I stepped back and left the door open. Footfalls indicated that Jake, and probably the other two as well, was following me into the house.

"Okay, Jake. You want to try and explain this, go right ahead. Try to make me understand how you could avoid me and Embry like we had the plague. Explain what you think gives you the right to pass judgment on us and our choices."

"First, _you_ tell _me_, Bella: what made you make the choice to start dating one of my best friends when you knew-you had to know-how I felt about you, how I've always felt about you?"

"It's not about you, Jake. He liked me, I liked him; he asked me, I said yes. Just like practically every other couple on the planet who decide to start dating."

"So, what, it never meant anything? The connection we've always had?"

"You've been one of my best friends for a long time, Jake, but that's all you've ever been to me," I kept my gaze focused on the hands folded in my lap. "I'm thankful for how much you helped me this summer, and Quil, too. Embry just helped me more, and differently."

"How is it different?" he cried out. I couldn't help looking upward then, finally meeting Jake's eyes.

"I don't know how it's different, just that it is. It's not that one of you is better than the other, just that I feel that Embry is the right one for me."

Jake's fists were clenched again and he was breathing heavily even while he refused to break our eye contact. The breathing was almost like what Embry did when I tested his self-control, but different. Even though this wasn't really the time, my body automatically reacted to my new line of thinking.

"What the hell is that smell?" Quil cut in; maybe he was trying to break the tension like he'd often done in the past. If that was his plan, though, it didn't work very well.

Paul laughed. "That, my friend, is the wondrous _Eau de Sex._"

My embarrassment warred with confusion. Just because Embry and I had just had sex today didn't mean I wanted everyone-anyone-to know about it. And how in the world would Paul be able to tell? How could he possibly smell that?

Jake's black gaze bore into me. "Is it true, Bella? Did Embry have sex with you? Take advantage of you?"

"Shut the hell up, Jacob Black. How dare you think you have any right to ask me a question like that? It's none of your damn business what I do or who I do it with!"

"Answer the damn question, Bella!"

"Yes!" I flung the word at him defiantly. "Yes, I did have sex with Embry. He's my boyfriend, I love him, and we both wanted this. You're a real jerk and an idiot to think that Embry would ever take advantage of me, or that I'd let him. I'm a cop's daughter, damn it. I know how to defend myself. Get it through your stone skull, Jake: _I wanted to have sex with Embry_-and that's just what I did."

Jake's burning stare made me shrink back involuntarily into my chair, away from the heat and fury, attempting to put distance between myself and this hulking shaking stranger that had once been my friend. His trembling seemed to alarm Quil and Paul just as much as it did me. Quil grabbed hold of Jake's arm and began to bodily haul him from the living room, Paul pushing him from behind. They went into the kitchen, and from the sound of it, out the back door. With my usual lack of self-preservation, I followed them, getting to the door just in time to see Quil push Jacob into the woods that bordered the backyard. Paul was waiting on the small back patio, warily watching me. He started to follow the others, but stopped and turned back.

"Whatever happens, Bella, stick to your guns, okay? Don't second-guess yourself, or what you want. And don't doubt Embry, either."

More confused than ever, I watched in silence as the forest swallowed him up, too. I remained motionless for several minutes before turning back into the house. As I reached to shut the back door, a fierce howl echoed outward from the depths of the forest, making me shiver.

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Narrator POV

Quil had barely gotten Jake out of sight-and himself out of range-before the youth phased in a violent explosion of clothing fragments. Without pausing, Jake dug his claws into the forest loam and tore in the direction of home. His thoughts were chaotic and enraged.

_Bella-Embry-mine-no imprint-why-sex-wrong-why-mine-Bella-__**EMBRY!**_

He ignored Quil's shouts of his name, focused now on venting his fury on the appropriate target.

_Sam!_ Paul shouted mentally, adding a vocal howl to the urgent summons.

_What?_

_Jake's beyond pissed off that Bella and Embry did the deed today before he got here. You and Jared better get moving. He's heading straight for Embry's place, I figure, and looking to tear into him once he gets there._

_Shit! Damn it! Shit!_ Sam vented indiscriminately, and without specifying which bit of news he was predominantly reacting to. _Paul, you and Quil keep up with him as best you can. Jared and I will be waiting in the woods behind Embry's house._

Paul didn't answer, putting all his energy into trying to catch up to the wolf running with murder on the mind.

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Embry POV

Back at home, I headed straight for the kitchen and specifically the freezer. I grabbed the entire ice bin and both of the freezer blocks. The ice cubes went into a big ziploc bag and the ice blocks into smaller baggies. I turned the fans on as high as they would go and arranged the bags of ice under my arms and on my neck. I felt like I was on fire and that an entire ant colony was marching through my veins. I thought about grabbing the thermometer to check my temperature, but I couldn't make myself move. So I just sat on the couch and tried to make sense of all the stuff that had happened today.

"EMBRY!" Jake's familiar voice screamed my name, but it was distorted almost to incomprehensibility. "Embry, you bastard!"

Fury erupted from deep in my gut. How dare that jerk finally decide to come back around, and throw my mysterious paternity into my face in the bargain? The icepacks were forgotten as I stormed out the back door, to find Jake and the rest of Sam's gang standing in my yard.

"I might be the bastard technically, but _you're_ the one who's acting like it, Jacob," I snarled, focusing on him and ignoring the others. "What the hell gives you the right to come over here-after weeks of ignoring me-and say something like that?"

"You had sex with Bella!" he screamed, actually shaking with his anger.

_How the fuck would he know that?_ Well, he had to have heard it from someone, and if it hadn't been me... "She told you that, huh?" I smirked, arrogant satisfaction rampant in my expression and posture.

"She was supposed to be mine!"

"Bella's her own person, Jake, and makes her own choices. It's just 'too bad, so sad'-for you-that she chose me. Guess it's true what they say: 'if you snooze, you lose'."

"That's not helping the situation, Embry," Sam Uley addressed me.

"And why in the world would I care about helping your _situation_?" I retorted. "Seems like this is between Jake and me. Not my fault if he's got a major case of sour grapes."

"When did you become such a smartass, Embry?"

"Shut up and butt out, Quil. You've obviously picked your side, so just deal with it."

"I didn't want to have to chose," he groaned.

"But you did it anyway. And, hey, I got a sexy girlfriend out of it, so maybe I should be thanking you both for dropping us like we were some kind of poison. Who knows, I might not have gotten up the nerve to make a move on Bella without it." I knew that I was doing just what Sam didn't want me to do-egg Jake on even more-but I just didn't care one little bit.

"You bastard! I'm gonna kill you!" Jake screamed, and flung himself out of the grip that Jared and Paul had him in, tearing across the yard toward me. With a yell and some kind of silent explosion, Jake vanished to be replaced by a red wolf-the same wolf from the meadow, my mind had time to register-that kept racing toward me, clearly intent on carrying out the just-issued death threat.

My own trembling escalated into equally violent convulsions, and the fire combusted me from the inside out. The world turned upside down as my body involuntarily rearranged itself. I didn't know what had just happened, and didn't have time to care, not with Jake getting closer by the second.

_Not if I kill you first,_ I screamed in reply.

_What the fuck?!_

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Bella's quote is a variation on the well-known phrase "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", by Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu.

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AN: Okay, all, yes, it's finally happened (both the sex and the phase). Really hope you enjoyed this. I've been looking forward to the story getting to this point for quite a while, and I really put a lot into getting this to turn out just right. Can't wait to see your reactions, and we'll get the characters' responses in the next installment. I'd hoped to have this up for you last night, but I was under contract for a one-shot for the Tricky Raven Author/Artist Silent Auction and had to see that posted last night, so between that and my nap on the couch, I just didn't have time to do it all. But on the upshot, I got to spend a little more time polishing this up and I think it was a good thing. I hope that this chapter—which I've been looking forward to writing since I began this story—lives up to all of you, and my, expectations. I really hope you like this and can't wait to see what you think.


	35. Phasing with a Side of Chaos

Lengthy author note and anonymous reviews thanks are at the end of this chapter.

Thanks to mc7575 for thoughts and suggestions on a rough early portion of this, and for later thoughts when I needed them. Especial thanks to Feebes for looking over a more complete draft of this chapter and keeping me from going seriously astray. I could not have done this without both of you.

I really hope that this chapter came out as well as I wanted it to. I think it did, but I'd love to hear what you, the readers, think about it.

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8/1/13: Ending of chapter revised to correct an "oops" that I just discovered.

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Narrator POV

_What the fuck?_ The exclamation came from the entire pack, all of whom had reflexively phased in response to Jake and Embry.

The spot where Embry Call had stood just seconds earlier was now occupied by a large black-and-grey wolf. He didn't appear to be freaking out the way all the others had during their first phase, but that could have been because none of them had been under attack by another wolf at the moment they'd changed-an imminent attack _would_ do wonders for prioritizing one's thoughts. Though, it was also possible that this calm was only due to the fact that Embry didn't yet realize that anything was different about him. The shock of Embry's transformation didn't stop Jacob's charge, and he slammed into the newest wolf, who somehow managed to sink his teeth into Jake's shoulder as he was bowled over. The reddish wolf shook him off, and both were instantly back on their feet and circling. Jacob lashed out again, catching Embry along his flank and opening up a gash in his flesh that oozed blood. Embry snarled in pain, yet somehow instinctively pushed it aside in time to catch his former friend's hind foot in his mouth. And the battle continued, strike and counter, blow and reply, attack and defense. Clumps of fur and droplets of blood flew off the dueling wolves to decorate the Call's backyard. Yet the naturally fast healing gifted to the wolves by the spirits kept any wound dealt from being too serious, almost instantly sealing over the gashes left by claws or teeth, knitting together skin, muscles, and bones.

For the pack, it was like a train or car wreck, impossible to prevent from it happening or to stop themselves from watching. All except for Sam, who had immediately started issuing Alpha orders to both Jacob and Embry to stop the fighting right that instant. The only problem was that neither seemed to be listening or even hearing him. Jacob was likely too enraged, and Embry too focused on staying alive to register the voice in his head that shouldn't be there, for the Alpha command to penetrate into either of their brains.

_How the fuck is he doing that? _Paul wondered. _How is he **that **good at fighting with no training? Hell, he doesn't even know what he is now._

_Man, what is going on here? _Jared echoed. _How the hell could this happen?_

_Jacob! Embry! **Stop it! **_Finally, after countless repetitions, Sam's Alpha order at last cemented their paws to the ground, but stopped neither from baring their teeth and snarling.

**_He's_**_ the one who started it,_ Embry scoffed, staring Jacob down.

_Well, you're both going to be the one who ends it,_ Sam decreed_._

_What, because you say so? _

_Yes, actually, I do say so. I'm the Alpha, and that means my word is law._

_Alpha? Alpha of what?_

_The wolf-pack of the Quileute tribe. The pack you just joined—though I don't have the faintest idea how you managed it._

_That was real? Jake turned into a wolf? You all turned into wolves? Shit! **What happened to me? **Why am I-? Why do I have—paws? **What the hell?**_

_Embry, calm down, _Sam commanded. _Yes, we're all wolves—including you. _

_I'm going crazy. People don't turn into wolves. This isn't real. This can't be happening. I must've hit my head, or fallen into an alternate reality… Fuck. I'm not talking. Why can I hear myself? Why can I hear you?_ The thoughts and questions popped up like kernels of popcorn jumping up out of hot oil.

_No, you aren't going crazy. _

_Then someone tell me what the hell is going on! _Embry begged.

_We will,_ a new voice soothed. _Embry, it'll be okay, I promise. I'm Jared Cameron. You remember me, right?_

_You know, Jared, I've only lived here all my life. Yeah, I know you. You tried to butt into my business the other day._

_Sorry about that._

_Maybe you should have listened to him,_ Jacob interrupted.

_Jacob, _Sam growled. _I think you've said and done enough for one day. What the fuck were you thinking, attacking a presumed human? Someone you've called a friend?_

_He had sex with Bella! _Jacob screamed, repeating what he'd said a few minutes earlier, before all hell had broken loose.

_You had sex with her?_ Sam groaned to Embry, not so much in denial as in wondering what he'd been thinking.

_She's my girlfriend. I love her, she loves me. Why wouldn't we take the last step that we'd been heading for from the start? Especially since we both nearly got killed today by—what the hell was that all about? Who was he? What was he talking about? How did he-?_ Embry's thoughts broadcast his perspective of the meadow encounter: impossible speed and incomprehensible threats. His questions were good ones, despite the panicked tone.

_He was a Cold One-a vampire. We don't know details, but somehow he met her at some point in the past and clearly didn't like her. You would have been collateral damage—she was the one he was after today._

_Seems to have been because that female we've been chasing—Victoria, he called her?—lost her mate to the Cullens,_ Paul worked it out. _Guess she didn't want to go after them and decided to pick on Bella instead._

_Cullens?_

_They're vampires, too, but there's a treaty with them, so they can't be touched. This one, though—_and a mental stream showed Laurent's violent death. Embry howled. The sound seemed to break some kind of spell—they all abruptly remembered that they were standing in the Call's backyard. A neighbor could look over the fence at any time or Embry's mom could come home from work; the jig would be up in either case.

_Embry, come into the woods with us, and we can finish working through all of this,_ Jared encouraged_. _

_Go into the woods! Been there, done that, didn't want the freaking t-shirt._

_Into the woods, Embry_, Sam ordered, and paws obediently began moving.

_What the—why am I moving?_

_I'm Alpha. When I give an order, you have to obey it._

_For now_, Jake muttered darkly.

_What was that?_ Sam's attention swung around. _Jake?_

_I mean that you're only Alpha until I step up. Then the job's mine and **I** make the rules._

Sam's mental voice laughed harshly. _And you really think you're ready for that, **Jacob**? You're ready to take me on and fight me for the title? When I've been Alpha for two years, and you haven't been a wolf for much over two weeks?_

_What?_ Jacob was obviously caught off-guard with this, and shock rippled from the rest of the pack at the whole line of conversation.

_Just what it sounds like. The only way you're stepping up to Alpha is if you fight me for it. Because, let me tell you, **pup**: there's no way in hell that I'm just going to roll over and bare my throat to an immature child like the one you're showing yourself to be. You'll only get the title over my cold-or at least bleeding-corpse. So, **stand down.**_

It was a cold, hard, and humiliating truth. With how Embry-brand new wolf that he was-had been able to meet Jake blow for blow, the other wolf would stand no chance against the far more experienced Alpha-and they all knew it. With obvious reluctance, Jake's body lowered to the ground in clear submission to the Alpha's authority.

_Jacob, you will phase back to human, clean up every scrap of clothing in this yard, wash away the blood spatter, and then go home. You will **stay** there until told differently, and you will **say nothing** about any of this to anyone until given permission. Do you understand?_

**_Yes!_**Jacob snarled in demonstrable fury-both at the orders and that he had to obey them.

_Go, then. Embry, please come with us. _Sam led the way into the forest. Once they were far enough inside, he turned around to face the rest of his pack. Embry was in the middle of the semi-circle, with Jared on one side of him, Paul and then Quil on the other side.

_Okay, _Sam got down to business as soon as he felt the shimmer that indicated Jacob had regained his human form. _Embry phased. Why?_

_Um...Jake was charging at me?_

Sam's eyes lifted skyward. _Great. Just what I needed. Another wise-ass._

_Better this than him freaking out and running halfway to Canada like Jake and Quil did,_ Jared reminded him.

_Guess so. Okay. Yeah, I guess in that sense you did phase in self-defense. The confusion about 'why' is because you shouldn't have been able to do it at all, no matter what the threat._

_Why not?_

_Some of us in this tribe—though not everyone-have the ability to transform into wolves to protect our people from danger, danger like the Cold One who nearly killed you and Bella Swan in that meadow today._

_This isn't possible. I'm not Quileute. This isn't my tribe. I can't be a wolf. Vampires don't exist. Werewolves don't exist._

Paul gave him a friendly shoulder-bump. _All evidence to the contrary, of course. They do, we do, you aren't, and you aren't. Obviously, you **are** a wolf, so…damn, there's some movie line that's just about perfect for this._

Somehow that seemed to be exactly the right thing to say. A sense of calmness descended and images of a variety of sci-fi movies began to whirl in the pack mind. _ 'If you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' It's from Star Trek,_ Embry-the consummate sci-fi movie buff—filled in the reference to Paul's quote. B_ut what does it have to do with this? _His head shake seemed to encompass everything.

_This **blessing** is one that only members of the tribe are given, and even then, only in certain bloodlines. You're not Quileute-at least, that's what everyone has always said, _Sam spoke gravely. _But if we use your quote on logic...somehow, you must be Quileute after all. And since your mom is definitely Makah, that leaves your dad._

_Who? Who is he?_

_I don't know. I'm descended from a member of the last pack; so is Quil. Jacob's descended from two of those wolves. Paul has Uley blood in a collateral branch to mine, and Jared's the same with the Black line. But theoretically your father could be any man descended from our ancient chief Taha Aki. Unless your mom identifies him, there's not an easy way to find out, _the Alpha replied_._

Jared spoke carefully, clearly thinking his words out. _I think you're right, up to a point, Sam. But even if Paul and I got the wolf-gene just from one side, and from farther back than the rest of you, we're still full Quileute. Embry's only half, presumptively. Since he still phased in spite of that, wouldn't it stand to reason that his wolf-gene must be a strong one? Could that make a connection to the last pack more likely, even necessary?_

A heavy mental sigh echoed in the Alpha's thoughts. _Yes. Probably._

_So what does that mean, exactly?_ Paul asked the question before Embry could.

_It means that the pool of candidates is a lot smaller. Any of our dads, to start with. Maybe Harry or his brother, or Sue's brother—they might be close enough._

A wave of pain washed out through the pack. Quil and Jacob would have probably at least guessed this long ago, but now everyone currently phased now knew that this very thing had been Embry's secret lifelong fear, though one almost never voiced or thought: that he might one day discover that his father was someone he'd met or seen, but neither of them aware of the connection. Or worse, someone who had known about him but had chosen to never say anything or claim him. If he'd thought about it, Embry had always believed that his mom's firm silence had been because she didn't want him to know. But…what if it was the worst thing of all and she didn't know? Was that why she'd left home? Because Tiffany hadn't known who her son's father was?

_You're saying that one of you could be my brother?_ He choked out.

_We don't know,_ Sam answered sympathetically_. It's possible, I guess. It could end up being my dad, honestly. He hasn't been around in years—no one knows where he is or even if he's still alive._

_It'll be okay, Em,_ Quil's voice was quiet. _We'll get it figured out—or at least we'll try to. And I won't mind if you're my brother, honest. I might be mad at my dad, but I wouldn't be mad at you._

Paul spoke next._ I wouldn't mind a brother, either, but I don't think it'll be true. We lived in Tacoma until my mom split when I was nine. It could still be my dad, I suppose, if he came back here to visit…But even if you never find out, you'll still have all of us as your brothers anyway._

_Yeah, _Embry's tone was bitter. _I can just tell that Jake's gonna be thrilled to call me his brother in any sense of the word. Maybe he was rushing over to hug me instead of kill me, earlier._

_Nah, _Paul disagreed. _He was trying to kill you._

_What happened before he ran over here?_ Sam asked. _Paul, Quil, one of you needs start talking._

_We went over to Bella's, like you said we could, to check on her after what she'd been through,_ Quil began. _Jake said he wanted to explain things to her, but he just got mad when she let him know how pissed she is at him about everything. Then Bella said that Embry was her choice and that Jake didn't have any right to be angry at them._

_And then?_

_Then I stuck my foot in my mouth again and Paul fanned the flames. Jake started to lose it, but we managed to get him outside and out of sight before he phased. Then he tore off for Embry's place._

_And why did Jake start to lose it?_ Sam's patience was clearly starting to fray.

_It didn't happen, Sam,_ Paul's words fell heavily into the air. _He didn't take it well. And when he found out that they'd 'done the deed'…_

_How did he find that out?_ There was a mix of hurt and anger in Embry's question.

_Because we could smell it,_Quil answered despondently. _And because Bella told him when he asked her flat out._

Involuntarily, Embry's mind flashed to Bella, and the whole pack was treated to a live-action porn show…The way her slick folds felt against his fingers, the thrust of her hips against his, the tight warmth of her body contracting around his cock, and then finally, the sight of her face contorted in pleasure.

_Damn, kid,_ Paul's tone was admiring. _You go from clueless virgin to **that** in just a couple weeks?_

_What? You-?_

_This pack mind that we've got—it isn't just for talking to each other like we've been doing here. We also see what each other is thinking about. You just showed us some of what must've happened. Guess you could call it the downside to what's otherwise a handy trick._

_ Shit._

_Yeah, it sucks sometimes. You get used to it, or at least to trying not to think about things. But…I can't say I blame you for not being able to **not **think about **that.** I am impressed, my man._

_Great, my life is now complete: I've impressed Paul Lahote._ Embry took a deep breath._ You'd be amazed what you can learn by visiting the library. But I did have some help. I'm guessing I should be thanking **you** for that, right?_ The memory of a stack of skin mags was broadcast.

_'I am the master, you are the apprentice_,' Paul quoted theatrically.

_That's not how the line goes. Thanks just the same, though._

_You helped him?_ Jared swung around to look at Paul in disbelief. _How? Why? And why didn't we know about it?_

_I just delivered some reading material anonymously, that's all. Because there's nothing worse than having two clueless virgins—someone needs to know what they're doing. And because I was ordered to keep any and all bombshells about Bella and Embry to myself,_ Paul smirked.

_And the fact that I had sex with my girlfriend is some kind of bombshell? Popping our cherries is some kind of newsworthy event?_ Embry asked. _And why would Jake think he has any right to care what Bella and I did? Or any of you? And for that matter, what didn't happen that he seemed to think would happen and why did it make him mad?_

_Jacob—all of us—expected that he would imprint on her. Clearly, from what Paul and Quil just told us, that didn't happen. Considering that the idea was what's kept him mostly sane since he phased, I guess losing it isn't unexpected. Even if I didn't see you coming, why the hell did I say anything to him at all?_ Sam muttered that last bit to himself.

_What the hell is an imprint?_ Embry demanded.

Jared took the question. _She's the wolf's perfect and destined mate. She's our other half, the one who completes us—_

_The one who pops out the wolf's pups_, Paul cut in. _Only Sam and Jared have found theirs...so far._

_Does every wolf get an imprint? _

_Most do, according to the stories._

_Will I?_ The question was softly asked, and maybe not with the intent of getting an answer. Embry got one anyway.

_I almost think you already have._

_Paul, what the hell are you talking about?_ Sam demanded.

_Think about how fast his relationship with Bella took off, and how little time it took before things got physical. You haven't seen them together in real life-I have._ And Paul replayed his memory of seeing Embry and Bella together on the street corner in Forks…the two teenagers all hot and heavy against the side of the building… _And that was just a few days ago. They went from **that** to what Embry just showed us in only a few days. When the hell else does that happen unless an imprint is involved?_

_A pre-phase imprint? Is that what you think this is? That shouldn't be possible,_ the Alpha shook his massive head in disbelief.

Paul snorted in reply. _Well, apparently today is a day for the impossible. I could feel the heat between them across all that distance. Sam, it's just like you and Emily, or how Jared and Kim are. Possible or not, yeah, I almost do think they're half imprinted on each other already. And it might just answer the elephant in the room that no one's brought up yet: why did he phase because of Jake's attack and not when he was face to face with a vampire? What if the imprint bond was telling him that he could protect Bella better as a human than as a wolf? Okay, Sam, if you think I'm wrong…well, there's always that chance. There is one sure way to find out, one way or the other…and we all know what that is._

_I don't_, Embry inserted himself back into the conversation_._

As one of the imprinted wolves, Jared took charge of the answer. _You just have to look at her-meet her eyes and have her meet yours. It's like having gravity shift, where the girl becomes the center of the wolf's existence. Everything else just fades away._

_So I just have to look at her? Why are we standing around here for then?_

_Stop_, Sam commanded before Embry could even start to move. _You can't see her—not yet. Not until you've got control._

_Control?_ The question was low and dangerous. _How exactly am I **out** of control at the moment?_

_You only phased an hour ago. It takes weeks to learn and maintain control. I don't want her—or you, either—getting hurt._

Exercising his Beta role, Jared said, _Don't be bull-headed, Sam. You realize how much crap from the past couple weeks could have been avoided if you'd just let Jake see Bella to begin with? He would've found out then than there wasn't any imprinting and not gotten so obsessed with it that he'd attack a friend. And 'not get hurt'—if Paul's right and they really have already started forming the imprint-bond, you'll really be hurting them both if you keep them apart—especially now that they've hit a home run._

_So you think Paul is right?_

_I think we all know that the instinct only tells us that a girl is a future or potential imprint. You felt that with Bella—so did I, and Paul, too. I get why you thought it was going to be Jake to imprint on her, with how he'd always felt about her. I know you didn't have any idea that telling Jacob that first night to help him calm down would end up snowballing into a 'situation'. That's not your fault. Maybe it's the Spirits or the fates reminding us that we're not as smart as we think we are. Sam, we **all** made the assumption that Jake would be the one she was meant for, especially when Quil wasn't. And now we know we were all wrong. Can't change that, but we can decide what to do going forward. _

Embry didn't seem to care about the philosophical discussion taking place. _So, when? When can I see Bella? I'm supposed to see her again tomorrow._ And the pack again got a flash—but a tame one this time: Bella agreeing that they'd talk the next day about the meadow and Laurent.

_It could be useful to get her side of things_, Sam admitted. _I just don't know, though. Don't say anything, Jared—I get that I did mess a lot of stuff up where Jacob is concerned. I don't want to repeat my mistakes, but I don't plan on making new ones here in place of them. We'll see how things go tonight, and make a decision tomorrow._ He sighed heavily.

Something said a few minutes earlier finally registered with Embry._ Did I hear Quil say that Jake almost lost it at Bella's house? Almost went after her like he did me? How could you let that happen? Jake's that out of control, and you let him go see her, but I'm doing okay, and I can't? How the hell is that fair? _He was completely pissed off and about as willing to forget that Sam was Alpha as Jacob had been.

_Watch it, Embry, _Sam warned. _Jake seemed in control at the time—and like we've just been discussing, I had no idea about the bombshells he was going to be hit with. What Jacob tried to do to Bella—and did to you—is indefensible and it will be dealt with. _

_There's something else that's going to need dealing with: the council is going to need to know about all of this, _Jared reminded Sam. _How about_ _Paul and I will take him out for an intro course while you do that_? _Give you both some breathing space?_

_Both of you? Why?_

_Because we know a heck of a lot more than Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum_, Paul snorted_. And, we're the only two wolves in the pack that Embry doesn't want to bite the heads off of right now_.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella POV

A strange and eerie silence seemed to envelop the area long after the wolf's howl faded away. I couldn't say how long I stood there, motionless, before time seemed to start moving normally again. I switched the laundry from the washer to the dryer, and started giving the downstairs of the house a cursory and unnecessary cleaning. I really needed to think, and the mindless routine of housework would be perfect for that. Embry and I were going to have a lot to talk about come tomorrow, and I needed to figure out what I could and would say, and what I'd have to try and avoid-and I only had until tomorrow to decide it all.

Initially passing over the supernatural in favor of the normal, I thought about the need for Embry and me to talk about how things might change between us now that we'd actually had sex. Obviously it was probably-certainly-going to be something we'd be doing again, but how was that going to work? Would we have code words or signals? A schedule? Parameters on when and where? Were we going to keep this a secret? Be open about it? I mean, yeah, we'd kind-of agreed to not say anything to his mom or my dad unless they brought it up, but could we really get away with that? I'd long known that my face accurately depicted what I was thinking and feeling, so a smart cop dad like mine just might pick it up. And Embry's mom was no head-in-the-sand parent, either; she might guess just as easily as Charlie had. I mean, hadn't she given Embry a box of condoms just from seeing us sleeping chastely on the couch?

But the whole secrecy idea might be academic now that Jake knew what had happened today. Did I care what he thought or said about it, for that matter? I didn't, to be honest about it. If Jake would really be so childish to try and tattle on Embry and me to get us in trouble, then he absolutely wasn't worth either of us giving another thought to. If he told on us, then he told on us, and we'd deal with it—just like Embry had said. Nothing would change the fact that neither Embry nor I was a virgin anymore. Sure, neither parent here might be all that happy with us, but we _had_ been responsible enough to think about protection in advance and _use_ it, and we were both coming up on becoming legal adults, plus had gotten to know one another first, so we were actually far ahead of a lot of our peers. But it burned to just consider the idea that Jake would be so mad at us doing 'it' that he'd even think about trying to get us into any kind of trouble because of it-just like it still made me mad that Jake thought he had any kind of right to be mad at all.

The more I thought about it, there was something really wrong about Jake's reaction to all of this. So he'd found out my boyfriend and I had had sex. Big deal. He was just my childhood friend, not my dad. And even if everyone was right about him having crushed on me, it didn't justify that or give him the right to be so angry. So why had he acted like that? Why had he been all caveman about this? I shivered to remember Jake's burning stare, and how I'd only wanted to get away from him. I was sure he wouldn't have hurt me—wasn't I? But to glare like that, and shake so badly that his friends had pushed and pulled him out of my house…

The backyard. The shaking. The howl. In a rush of speed and rare coordination, I bolted for the door and outside. My eyes caught sight of bits of something that weren't part of the forest landscape, just inside the treeline. For the first time since 'That Day', I willingly walked into the forest behind my house. I hadn't minded the trips Embry and I had made searching for the meadow, but the initial thought of walking back toward the place where my life had shattered was almost unbearable. And I was in the grip of insatiable curiosity—I had to know what was going on. The thought that Laurent could be out there, waiting for another chance to get me almost made me turn back, but I didn't. If he wanted to kill me for Victoria badly enough, he'd find a way to do it no matter where I was. So with a deep breath, I stepped forward. Carefully approaching and crouching down, I realized they were fragments of fabric and rubber.

"What's made of fabric and rubber?" I tried to puzzle through it. It wasn't until I looked down at myself that it started to make sense. "Clothes and shoes," I spoke out loud. But what were fragments of clothing and shoes doing here, right where Jake and his friends had disappeared? I looked around some more and found even more shredded fragments, in a variety of colors and textures. What had happened here? I gathered up everything I could find and then registered something else: strangely shaped indentations in the soil under and around where the remnants had rested. _Paw-prints?_ Shaking my head in confusion, I returned to the house to try and figure all this out-along with everything else.

Switching a load of laundry from the washer to the dryer, I tried to pick up where I'd left off earlier. But there really wasn't much else I could consider about the whole sex issue until Embry and I talked and until our parents or someone else found out. So…back to the supernatural.

Could I really expect Embry to ignore what had happened in the meadow? He would have surely seen how fast Laurent moved, and be wondering how an unarmed 'man' had planned to kill us both. Was there any way I could spin this to both tell Embry and still keep my promise not to talk about what they were? When I listened to the question I'd just asked myself, I stopped dead in my mental tracks. Why was I thinking I needed to keep the Cullens' secrets? What loyalty did I owe them? They'd all left me-abandoned me. Edward had promised to stay as long as I needed and wanted him to-and then had left me mere weeks later. Why shouldn't I tell Embry what they'd been-what Laurent was? Laurent had almost killed Embry; Embry deserved to understand what he was and why it had happened. It wasn't like I'd made any vows of silence.

I started trying out conversation ideas in my head:

_"So, there's this bad vampire woman who evidently wants to kill me because of her mate-"_

_"Oh, the Cullens got away with an unreported murder because-"_

_"The whole mate thing is-"_

_"I can't tell you about the Cullens-"_

_"Victoria is-"_

All of them made me sound completely stupid and a perfect candidate for a loony bin. Loony. Alice. Anger raced through me again at the recollection of how I was now apparently in danger because of that whole Phoenix fiasco. Why hadn't Alice seen what the consequences of killing James would be? Why hadn't Edward or Jasper picked up on the mate-bond between Victoria and James? Why would Victoria think that Edward would care about my fate one way or the other? What pull did she have on Laurent that had made him leave Alaska, only to end up being chased away by a pack of wolves?

Silence...secrecy...no, _I _wasn't the one who'd promised not to say anything—but someone else had. It was an annoying niggle in the back of my head—I _knew_, just _knew_ that I knew something. But what? I started the mindless routine of dinner preparation and tried to let my mind remind me. Finally, it did. I hadn't technically given any vow of secrecy, but the Quileute's had. I now remembered that beach walk I'd taken with Jacob just after moving up here-how he'd told me the 'scary' stories of how people in his tribe were said to be descended from wolves, even becoming wolves at times, and how they'd met the Cullens-Cold Ones-and made a treaty of mutual secrecy with them as long as they didn't kill humans. This made me really start thinking about Jacob, trying to figure out everything, seeing if it matched up, wondering when and how it had all shifted. Well, when had been weeks ago. There was that strange growth spurt that he and Quil had both gone through, the way his-their-tempers had started to get touchy. Then the day my truck had acted up, Jake and Quil had really gotten into it, verbally at least-which wasn't like either one of them. Next had been them completing avoiding both me and Embry, what had seemed like Billy's active involvement, the obvious lies and nonsensical explanations. The drastic physical transformations both had gone through...until now they were just like that Sam Uley and his friends. And on the subject of them, how had they found me in the woods that night? It was so stereotypical to say that natives were good trackers and hunters, but did that explain it anyway? Last there was the personality shift in Jake; from sunny and cheerful to angry and broody in just a few weeks? How he'd been shaking with anger about me and Embry...how worried both Quil and Paul had been...like they thought he might hurt me... Based just on the signs, it seemed like the rumors about the group and drugs just might be true, though I somehow doubted it. So if it wasn't 'roid rage, then would the wolf-thing explain it all?

_Wolves..._ It seemed too crazy to be true, but I forced myself to back up and think it through logically. There had been 5 wolves in that meadow; Sam Uley's 'gang' had 5 members if Jake and Quil were part of it. All canines had an advanced sense of smell for tracking prey; Sam and two of his guys had found me in the middle of the forest at night, and Paul and Quil had seemed to _know_ what Embry and I had done upstairs today even before I'd admitted it. A wolf-pack was led by an Alpha; Sam Uley seemed to be the boss, and if Quil's accidental admission to Embry and me at the beach the other day was right, Sam had been the one keeping Jacob away from me and Embry. Huge animal tracks-that could easily be those of wolves-had been found under the fragments of clothing and shoes, but there were no signs that I'd seen that anyone had been attacked by animals-no blood, severed limbs, or dead bodies. _What are you missing, Bella? _I asked myself.

"Hey, Bells." I practically jumped at the sound of my dad's voice, having been so deeply in thought that I hadn't heard him come into the house.

"Hey, Dad. Good day at work?"

"Same old, same old," he answered. "What about you?"

"It was fine. Hung out with Embry most of the day."

"That's nice. Bells, you know anything about that car parked out in front? The one with the tribal license plate?"

"Car? No, I didn't know anything about it. It wasn't there when we got back here to the house." I headed for the front window to get a look, scrambling to come up with a story Charlie might believe. My seemingly crazy idea about Jake and his friends being wolves didn't seem quite as crazy now: if they'd turned into wolves in the woods, then they would have had to leave the car they'd come here in behind. Yep, there sure was a car parked out on the street. I didn't recognize it, but that didn't necessarily mean much—I wasn't overly observant about that kind of thing.

Turning back to my dad, I offered, "Maybe the driver had to do something and figured that it would be safe to leave their car in front of our house. Your tribal counterpart could probably find out who it belongs to, right?"

"Yeah, he probably could. Good idea, Bella. I'm gonna go give him a call right now."

"Maybe after dinner? It's ready to go, and the La Push police chief is probably having his own dinner right now, anyway."

"Good thinking." Charlie gave me a bit of a look, but I just smiled and returned to the kitchen to serve up dinner.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam POV

After leaving Jared and Paul in the woods with our newest—but least expected—recruit, I'd gone home and started the calling tree that would summon the full council to an emergency meeting. Perversely, I didn't give any reason as to why I was calling this meeting—they'd find out when I was good and ready for them to. While I waited, I soaked in the peace and comfort that my wife—my imprint—gave me, and tried to pull my thoughts in order. Emily listened in silence to what I told her had been done and said today, then offered opinions that closely matched Paul's and Jared's.

"You are the Alpha of the pack," she told me just before I left our house. "You and you alone know what's best for them. The council members have wisdom to offer, yes, but none of them have been in your position. They don't know what any of it is truly like."

Quil had been waiting for me just outside the council meeting room—having brought his grandfather here as directed and then been dismissed. He followed me into the council meeting room and sat where I pointed, his normally bouncy personality nowhere in evidence; being torn yet again between his two lifelong friends was a major downer. He wasn't the expected choice for backup, but my options had been limited. I was pissed off at Jacob, so keeping him away from me for a while longer was best. Embry wasn't back to human yet, and I wouldn't have wanted to put him on display anyway-especially given that he was going to be the main, or one of the main, topics of discussion. Not that Embry would have come to the meeting willingly anyway. Paul had been right about Embry being angry with practically all of us, with him and Jared being the exceptions.

Hopefully the time out on patrol would calm Embry down back to his normally easy-going state, so that he _would_ be able to see Bella soon. I didn't exactly want to believe that Paul was right about Bella being Embry's imprint, but all the things he'd noticed about them—when put together—were pretty damned hard to ignore. But that only brought up the question of how exactly Paul had been able to use my order and keep silent about those things he'd seen. Was it him looking out for his brother? Protecting an imprint? Just causing mischief? I shoved it aside for the moment: I had other things to be dealing with just now.

The expanded council of elders—which included the parents of the pack's members—had looked up as Quil and I had entered, and their hushed conversations stopped as I, the Alpha, approached the table to speak.

"We have a...situation," I began. I'd debated how to organize everything I'd be hitting the council with this evening, but if I hadn't gotten it easy, neither would they. Besides, I had my own bone to pick with at least one of them. A thread of anger had been brewing inside me from the moment Jacob had threatened my right to the title of Alpha. I knew damn good and well that neither I nor any of my other pack members would have told him anything about his own claim to the position—and I'd never caught any hints in the pack mind that it had slipped out—so it had to have come from his father. As much as I'd admired Billy Black and relied on his advice and support these past couple years, I now resented him that much. He knew the theory of how the pack hierarchy was structured and maintained, so telling Jake that he would automatically rise to the title someday…well, it was too bad, so sad for him that his generation hadn't been the one to phase, but to try and live that through his son and the rest of us… I hoped that it was somehow just him making the same kind of well-intentioned mistake that I'd made during Jake's first night in the pack, and that Billy hadn't dreamed that Jacob would take his words and run with them like he had just done. I knew that my order to Jacob would have held and kept him from saying anything about this to his father, so I'd just have to decide when and how to bring it up. I spared one last moment to wonder what Billy had been thinking then—and other times recently—before pushing that into the background as well.

"What situation is that?" Billy Black asked.

"Jacob Black phased in front of Embry Call this afternoon and attacked him," the statement was given flatly.

"What?"

"Why?"

Chaos erupted. The idea that one of the tribe's protectors would lose control so badly as to phase in public and then attack a human was almost unthinkable. Yet the elders would either have to accept that it had in fact happened, or call me a liar.

"How is that possible? There must be some mistake." Not too surprisingly, in view of my recent thoughts, it was Billy who expressed the doubt.

"There is no mistake," I denied, in a flat not-to-be-argued-with tone. "The entire pack was present and witnessed the incident."

"Why did this happen?" Old Quil asked, seeing that Billy was incapable of doing so. With a single look and gesture, he silenced the deafening sounds of the council's reactions. "Sam, do you know what provocation there could have been for young Jacob to attack his friend Embry?"

"Was Embry hurt?" Sue gasped, with a nurse's concern, before I could answer our eldest elder. She'd dealt with a number of conventional animal attacks in her career, and would know well that a werewolf could do far worse things.

"He's alright physically," I reported, "as is Jacob. They each took a few wounds and gave a few, but they both healed up quickly. I ordered Jacob to go home and Embry's out with Jared and Paul."

"What?"

"Why?"

The questions burst forth from more than one council member.

"How could Embry have hurt Jacob in any way?" Billy wanted to know.

"Because a couple of seconds after Jacob phased, so did Embry."

"Embry Call is a wolf?" Harry Clearwater gasped.

"He is," I confirmed.

"Sam," Old Quil gave me as much of a command as he could. "Explain everything from the beginning, please."

I sighed heavily. "The pack encountered a vampire in the forest again today. He nearly killed Bella Swan and Embry Call before the pack was able to intervene. After he was destroyed, Jacob, along with Paul and young Quil here, went to Bella's house to check on her well-being. From what has been relayed to me since then, there was some kind of argument between Jacob and Bella about her and Embry. That argument—over the progression of Embry and Bella's relationship—and drove Jacob to immediately go to Embry's house to confront him about his relationship with Bella. Embry was not receptive to the criticism and provoked Jacob instead of trying to calm the situation. Jacob lost control, phased, and charged toward Embry. That was when Embry phased. They engaged in a short but violent fight before they could be separated."

"How is that possible?" Jared's father, James Cameron, questioned. "He's Makah, isn't he?"

"That's what has always been believed," Sue confirmed. "Tiffany Call came here while she was pregnant with Embry, and everyone just assumed the father had been left behind, for whatever reason. But obviously, since he phased, he must be part Quileute as well."

"So who was his father?" Caleb Lahote asked.

"Likely the only one who can tell us is Tiffany herself," I answered. "Which means we may well have to tell her why we need to know-unless she's told Embry who his father is." And that was something I knew hadn't happened, based on what Embry had told the pack today.

"She hasn't," Quil interrupted almost before he knew he was doing it. He got a severe frown from his grandfather for the lack of manners, but the elder also gestured for his namesake grandson to keep talking. "She's never told him who his father is-was. His birth certificate is blank, too-he checked once."

"But to tell an outsider one of our deepest secrets," Billy clearly wasn't happy with the idea.

"The parents of pack members are informed of this secret, for the well-being of everyone," Sue reminded him. "Makah or not, Tiffany is Embry's mother. She shouldn't be put at risk, or their relationship jeopardized, out of nit-picky rule-following."

"We may not have a choice, Billy," Harry spoke slowly. "If we want to know who the father was-which we need to find out-then if telling her is the only way to get the information, that's what will have to happen. Do you want one of us to do it, Sam?"

I shook my head. However tempting the idea, as Alpha the task was rightly mine. "My pack, my responsibility. I'll tell her, and maybe have my mom come along so Tiffany has someone to talk to who's been through this." Belated I added, "If you're willing to help, Mom."

Alison Uley, my mother and sole parent for practically as long as I could remember, gave me a knowing look from her seat among the secondary members of the council, and then nodded agreement.

"That would be acceptable," Old Quil judged. "What else do we need to know?"

"That it was not only the revelation of the extent of Embry and Bella's relationship—" I felt like I was overusing the word 'relationship', but I didn't really want to use any of the other options. "—it was also the fact that Jacob did not imprint on her when he saw her earlier today."

"That's not possible," Billy exclaimed.

"Both Paul and Quil confirm that nothing happened when he looked directly into her eyes this afternoon."

"'The extent of their relationship' meaning what?" Old Quil pressed.

My cheeks actually flamed a bit. "It appears that in the time between when they fled the meadow and when Jacob and the others arrived at Bella's house, she and Embry… physically affirmed the fact that they were still alive."

"You're saying that Embry Call and Bella Swan had sex?" Marisol Lahote, Paul's mother asked—I guess there isn't a need to ask which parent Paul takes after, I thought inanely.

"Yes. Jacob didn't react well to either revelation."

"Was Bella hurt or threatened?" Sue wanted to know.

"No. Paul and Quil were able to get Jacob outside and out of sight before he phased. She didn't see anything. She didn't appear to have taken any injuries from the meadow experience, either. Bella is safe at home with her father. Embry, as I said, is out with Jared and Paul, learning the ropes. Hopefully he'll master things quickly and be able to phase back to human. He'll need to see Bella again soon."

"What? He can't do that!"

"Yes, he can, Billy," I was in no mood to put up with any more defiance from any member of the Black family tonight. "Based on things that several pack members have observed, we need a meeting between them to confirm whether or not an imprinting is in progress, which we have come believe is the case."

"She was supposed to be Jacob's imprint," Billy tried to continue the argument.

"That was our assumption—all of us. Clearly, though, it has been proven to be wrong. Just as we were mistaken to keep Jacob away from Bella for so long. If he'd looked at her sooner, he would have known it would not happen."

"You suspected something like this, didn't you?" Young Quil asked his grandfather, earning them confused looks from everyone else.

"Explain," I ordered. And Quil did so, describing a talk he'd had with his namesake grandfather just after he'd phased.

(flashback)

Quil POV

"The Spirits send signs, but the interpretation belongs to the one who receives them," Grandfather pronounced.

"So if Sam's sure that Jake will imprint on Bella, then that settles it, right?" I'd asked.

"Perhaps."

"Grandfather," I groaned. He was often spouting such vague responses.

"The Alpha has wisdom and insight. I have heard his beliefs. I have heard that young Jacob feels strongly tied to this girl. Do you?"

I shook my head. "She's nice, and it's not like being around her has been a bother; but I don't feel that strongly about her, not like Jake does. I don't want to hurt my friend like that. I don't want it to be me."

"Do not worry, my grandson. When you see her next, you will all know what is and what is not."

(end flashback)

Sam POV

"So you suspected it might not be Jacob?" I asked Old Quil.

"I did not _know_—as you did not, and as no one did—but the speed and nature of this relationship's development, and the way that young Bella did not have any desire to be around Jacob any longer…I would agree that there has been some question in my mind. But, as you said, until he saw her, it was not certain."

"Is it wise for them to meet so soon, though, Sam?" James asked. "The other boys have always been kept separate for a while—even from their families—as a precaution. Is it wise to make such a gamble?"

"They won't be alone for this meeting. And Embry's nature seems to be perhaps the calmest of anyone's—I don't believe he would hurt her or that this imprint would let him."

"But—"

"Enough!" I commanded. "I am Alpha of this pack, and the decisions about the pack are mine and mine alone to make. You have been informed of recent developments, but the responses to them are not open for debate. Now, if you'll excuse us, Mom and I need to talk and then go to see Tiffany Call."

With that, I left, not caring that chaos erupted again in my wake.

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AN: Reviewer Tylxor1 asked for a refresher on how old people are in this story, and I figure we can all use the reminder (even me).

Sam and Emily are both 20 (Sam phased 2 years ago, and their son Levi is about 1). (ch 1, 5, 9)

Jared and Kim had both just graduated from high school when the story begins, and are 18, coming up on 19. (ch 4, 21)

Leah turned 18 early in her senior year, and has left for college and will soon be 19. She's about a year older than Bella (chapter 5)

Paul is just now 18 and will be a senior. He's a little bit older than Jack and company (ch 4, 24)

Jake, Quil, and Embry are all 17 (as per what Embry told Bella back in chapter 8). I'm thinking that Jake's birthday is early in the school year (so he's closer to 18 now), Quil in mid-year, and Embry near the end of the school year (so he'd only recently turned 17 when the story started). They're all going to be seniors. I'm saying (like Jake told Renee back in ch 3) that the rez school does things a little differently from traditional American schools in terms of when they let kids start. Usually kids have to be 5 by the start of school to begin kindergarten. So the officials let Jake and Quil by that way, and I think Embry's smart enough that he could skip a grade and be with his friends.

Jessica and Angela are both 17 and will be 18 sometime during their upcoming senior year in high school.

Seth is a few years younger than Leah and probably around 14.

Bella is 17, and going to turn 18 early in her senior year of high school.

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Jana: Thrilled that you loved it. I can say that Laurent was always in the plan for this part of the story (my little twist on canon). Absolutely Bella and Embry didn't deserve to die, and especially not before hitting that grand slam. Paul is certainly something, and Embry's a badass wolf now. Good times coming.

T (guest): Happy you love it. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that things work out for all the characters.

KT (guest): Yep, Embry finally phased. I think that Jake and Embry fighting makes perfect sense considering what has (and hasn't) happened between them the past couple weeks, what just occurred between Embry and Bella, and the major reality checks that Jake is being handed. We can hope that they can somehow find a way to be friends again at some point. Embry definitely has a lot he'll be dealing with, too. We'll start to see his reactions to stuff in this next one.

Husna: Wow and amazing are great descriptive words. We'll at least start seeing all the reactions in this chapter, and I do have my (good) plans for Bella and Embry.

Guest(1):You might have a point about Jake having some traits in common with Edward. I think Bella's realized that a time or two as well. Glad you liked the chapter.

Guest(2): Yes, I know I'm a terrible author to torture everyone with where I ended the last chapter. This one picks up right where it left off, so hopefully that will help. Thrilled you loved it. Phase is accomplished, imprint is coming.

blackshadow: I hope this was soon enough. Glad you love the story. The imprinting will unfold just as it needs to.

Guest(3) through Guest(7): I would say I'm sorry this took so long, but honestly I don't think I am sorry. A great chapter can't be rushed. And since I want each chapter to be great, that means I don't rush. I try to write as often as I can, but I do have a life, a job, a family, and pets to be involved with, plus needing a little something called sleep. Can't sit at home all day/night in front of my computer plotting. I will say again that I NEVER hold back a chapter for a specific posting schedule or a benchmark number of reviews. No new chapter posted = no new chapter finished. The second I finish writing a chapter and running a quick spell/grammar check, the chapter gets posted. But I have to have the content written for this one, and that can take time. If I don't have the time to write or to plot, then it doesn't get done. And this time, it really took a lot of doing to get a chapter put together. I had some major writer's block and just couldn't come up with anything for quite a while. Then, I started getting so much that massive editing was required or else some huge mistakes in who knew what and when would have slipped through into this finished chapter.

To the reviewer(s) known as "Guest": I'm not sure if you are just one person or several. If just one, I do thank you for the 7 reviews submitted for this chapter. It got to be a little unwieldy for my response to each, and slightly repetitive, so I've combined several of them. I'd encourage you to think about registering with the site, not just to get alerts when a new chapter posts, but so that reader/writer can have private exchanges if they desire.

Congrats to reviewer jessikaC123 for being review #700 and to Emmalovesdimitri for being review #750 for this story on . Have to also give a shout out (though they may not read this) to Bex67 for bumping "The Wolf and His Girl" to the 2500 review mark.


	36. Knowledge Isn't Always Fun

AN : Thanks to mc7575 and Feebes for your thoughts and comments on this chapter. Sorry this took so long to produce. Major writer's block on this one, even though I knew the basic sequence of events that I wanted here.

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Sam POV

Keen wolf senses told me that my mom had pushed her chair back from the table, and started to follow me out of the council meeting. Quil bolted after me before anyone could insist that he stay.

"I'm just gonna go home, okay, Sam?"

"Good idea." The last thing I needed tonight was for him to phase in with Embry and have another pack brawl on my hands—not that Embry was as likely to fight with Quil as with Jacob, but my newest wolf was pretty mad at both of his friends. Just as clearly, the last person Quil wanted to be around was Jacob. But before he left...

"Quil, why didn't you mention what your grandfather said?"

His broad shoulders shrugged and one foot dug into the dirt. "Dunno. Guess I just forgot about it. Grandpa's always saying that kind of mystical stuff. And I suppose I thought that he was talking about me and Jake-not Embry."

I nodded in comprehension. Still, part of me wished he'd volunteered the information anyway, but hindsight is always 20/20.

Mom stayed silent until Quil was out of sight.

"Tough day?" she asked.

My reply was a snort.

"Of course. Silly question. So Embry Call phased and no one saw it coming. Is there anything you didn't tell the council?"

"Not really. I think I hit them with enough tonight as it is. I don't think I could handle anything else just now. Just dealing with Embry phasing, the whole paternity mess, and the probable catastrophe if we're right about this imprint…Billy would have jumped clean out of his wheelchair if I'd said anything else."

" Ouch. Yes, that was a lot to process in one sitting. You really think it will be a major problem if Embry does imprint on Bella?"

I gave my mom an incredulous look. "Jacob charged over and tried to rip Embry's throat out just knowing that Embry had had sex with Bella—even though she wasn't Jacob's imprint. If Paul's right about Bella being destined for Embry…Jacob and Embry sharing the pack mind—Jacob forced to see Bella with Embry…'major problem' is a huge understatement."

"_Paul_ figured it out?"

"Seems that way. He saw a lot that none of the rest of us did with Embry and Bella, and his arguments make sense. We'll just have to wait a little bit to see if he's right. But not too long," I added. "I've learned my lesson there. Other than facing Jacob, Embry seemed to be handling things really well so far, so hopefully he can see her soon." Not that I thought he'd hurt his mom by choice, but with what almost happened to Emily, I had vowed never to take chances where the other wolves in my pack were concerned. It was why I'd argued the core council into agreeing that families would be told what was going on.

"So we're going to see Tiffany now?" Mom asked the question we both already knew the answer to.

I nodded. "She has to know for her own safety, same as everyone else. She's a smart woman-no way she won't notice how different Embry's going to be now."

"And you also want to convince her to name the father."

"Like Harry said: we need to know. _Embry_ needs to know."

"And you need to know?" Mom's question made me stop in the middle of the street. "You think its Josh, don't you?"

"Seems like something he'd do," I admitted. "It'd hurt to know he cheated on you, but...better him than most of the other prime candidates." At her look of question, I shared some of the pack discussion on the possible paternity candidates.

"That poor boy."

We turned into the Call's driveway, where Tiffany's car was parked. I could feel the radiated heat off the engine, so she had probably not been home long. Her expression when the door opened at our knock seemed to show that she'd discovered Embry's absence, but not the reason why.

"Tiffany, we need to talk."

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Narrator POV

"Embry? Are you here?" Tiffany called out when she walked into the house. Silence was the only reply. Apparently, her son wasn't here. Most likely, he was still in Forks with his girlfriend. Tiffany liked Bella, and couldn't think of a nicer girl to be her son's first girlfriend, no matter what narrow-minded people like Billy Black might think. As a mother, though, she had a tiny bit of concern with how serious things seemed to have gotten and how quickly. It had only been the other day that she'd asked Embry if he and Bella were now intimate, and while he'd said no... She just didn't want her son to end up repeating the cycle of early life-long commitments. Tiffany was thankful to have Embry, and wouldn't wish him away for anything, but there were times she hadn't been able to keep from wondering "what if" or "if only" before squelching those thoughts and tucking old dreams away.

But she had to revise her thoughts about Embry's whereabouts when she found his cell phone sitting on the living room coffee table-and the half-thawed ice blocks and ice packs left abandoned on the couch. So he'd clearly come home, but what was going on?

Returning blocks and packs to the freezer, Tiffany moved to check Embry's bedroom-empty-and then the backyard-also empty. A scan of the garage showed that his bike was there, so where was her son? Normally, she would have called the houses of his best friends, but they hadn't spoken to Embry in weeks that she knew of. _What is going on?_

A knocking on the front door had her automatically turning in that direction. Tiffany's feet felt like they were encased in lead boots. _Please let Embry be alright._ Opening the door and expecting to see a police officer, she was relieved-if extremely confused-to find Alison and Sam Uley standing on her front porch.

She opened her mouth to ask, "Can I help you?" but didn't get the question out before Sam said, "We need to talk."

"Excuse me?"

Alison gave her son a maternal look, regardless of the fact that she had to look up quite a ways to deliver it.

"Tiffany, I apologize for Sam's directness, but there is something important that we need to discuss with you. Can we come inside?"

"This isn't really a good time. I need to-"

"Embry's fine," Sam cut in. "He's out with Paul and Jared."

"Why is he with _your_ friends? Embry's a good boy, he wouldn't get mixed up in your little gang or cult or—"

"The pack is not a gang or a cult—" Sam retorted hotly, all of the day's events finally cracking his iron control a fraction.

"What, then?"

"We're protectors. We protect our tribe. And Embry might not have hung out with us before, but he will now. He just joined up."

"_No, he hasn't,"_ Tiffany hissed.

"He doesn't have a choice. Whoever his father was made sure of that."

Embry's mother froze. "What?"

"Sam, you're making quite a mess of this," Alison chided. "Tiffany, some young men of this tribe, ones that are descended from an ancient chief, Taha Aki, have been gifted a certain special inheritance, one that helps them protect their tribe from a longstanding enemy. My Sam and his friends are the protectors in the current generation. Your Embry also manifested this heritage tonight, and that—as Sam rather bluntly put it—does mean that Embry must have ties to this tribe. If those ties don't come from you, a Makah, then they must come from the man who fathered Embry, and he has to be Quileute."

"Oh, does he?" The sarcasm was obvious.

"Yes," Sam acknowledged. "And we will need to know who it was."

"What business is it of yours?"

"Embry is a part of my pack now. If he could phase as only a half-Quileute, then he's got to come from a strong bloodline. If I, or one of my pack brothers, have a blood brother in Embry, then yes, Tiffany, that damn well _is_ my business."

"It's in the past, and over and done with. Let sleeping dogs lie. He's done just fine without a father for seventeen years. What difference will a name make now?"

"I can't let this lie," the Alpha denied. "Embry was blindsided by this more than any of us. He deserves to know where he comes from."

A dark glare and tightly pressed lips were all Sam got.

"I realize that this is coming as quite a shock, and you'll certainly need time to process everything," Alison said. "It doesn't have to happen right away, but I think we both know that Sam is right about Embry and the other boys needing to know who he's connected to."

"And maybe he isn't connected to anyone. All I know is that you've walked in here and started telling all kinds of crazy things that make absolutely no sense."

"Have either you or Embry ever heard any of our tribal stories?" Sam asked.

"I'm Makah, remember? I wouldn't be let in on the stories. Embry may have heard some of them, given who his best friends were."

"Taha Aki…" Sam's voice took on the cadence of a storyteller. Tiffany sat still and silent, listening. It was clear to her visitors that she was hearing but not believing. Alison was about to suggest to her son that Tiffany might need to see proof of the stories when Sam jerked to his feet in automatic response to a noise that neither woman heard.

"Jared…"

When Sam strode quickly for the back door, Alison gently tugged Tiffany to her feet and led the younger woman to one of the windows. "Watch." And watch they did, as the young man stripped off his clothes, shuddered, and then changed from human to wolf in the space of a heartbeat. The back yard was quite dark, but for the light bleeding out from the windows that gave just enough illumination for the women to see by.

"Sorry for not warning you," Alison said, noticing Tiffany's faint blush. "They have to strip before they phase, or their clothing just shreds. It's partly why they tend not to wear much to start with. If they have warning, they can take things off and save them, but if they have to change forms quickly…

"Embry…" Tiffany whispered.

"Sam said he's fine. Jared and Paul are the two most experienced wolves, after Sam himself. They'll look out for Embry, teach him, and help him calm down enough to be human again and come home."

"What are you saying? 'Be human again'? My son is a wolf? That's your damned "special inheritance"?

"Unfortunately, yes," Alison laid sympathetic hands on Tiffany's shoulders. "It doesn't happen all the time, just when there's need. Before this pack, it was 70 years since the last one; Sam's great-grandfather and two others."

"Why does this happen?"

"It's an automatic reaction trigged by the presence of our enemies. And until a few months ago, there were seven of them living just north of Forks," Sam was the one who answered. He wore only his shorts now, shirt and shoes carried in one hand.

"Your enemies?"

"Vampires."

Tiffany staggered at that revelation, and Alison caught her before she could fall to the floor. Once his mother had coaxed Embry's mom back to the couch, Sam resumed his explanations, more mindful of Tiffany's shock than he had been. She didn't react much to hearing that her son would now patrol the area in case other vampires appeared, or that the school would work with the pack to excuse absences and make up assignments as needed. Hearing that the wolf business was why Sam hadn't gone to college, though, did get a response.

"He can't go to college?"

"I don't know. He can't go _away_, at least not now—none of us can. Online classes, or the community college in Forks, maybe. He's got a whole year before that's an issue, though."

"And what about Bella? What if she wants to go away somewhere?"

"If—hopefully she'll understand. I don't know if she'll be able to, either."

"If, what? If they're still together then, is that what you meant? Why wouldn't they be?"

"Because there's another wolf-trait: imprinting. If Embry imprints on Bella when he sees her next, they'll be together the rest of their lives. If he doesn't, it would be best for them to end things before either of them gets badly hurt."

"'Badly hurt'?"

"I tried to hold onto Leah, when I should have let her go. My selfishness ensured she was devastated when I imprinted on Emily. I don't want anyone else going through that."

"I don't think that's your decision to make. My son is almost an adult, and can make his own choices. So can Bella."

"Tiffany—"

She held up her hand. "No. I think that's enough. You come into my house, pried into my private business and my past, claimed some kind of authority over _my_ son, and are trying to take over his future. I think you need to leave now. _I_ will decide how to raise my son, and he'll decide his own future. Goodnight." Tiffany stood up, strode to the door, and opened it pointedly.

Dissatisfied, but aware that things couldn't be pushed any farther that night, Sam escorted his mother outside. Tiffany stumbled blindly to her bedroom, falling on her bed and starting to sob. It had been enough, knowing that her own life had been forever altered by youthful choices, but this…? Knowing that her son, her precious Embry, was paying the price for _her_ decisions…?

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Embry POV

_Come on. Let's get moving,_ Paul's voice told me. I didn't really feel like arguing. Sticking around here didn't seem like something I wanted to do, and if I went, maybe he could help me figure this out like he had-

_Yeah, I'll try,_ he answered a question I hadn't even asked yet. _That's what we're here for, in the pack. We have each others' backs._

Jared added, _Sam helped me out, and we've done it for the others as they've joined up. Sam didn't-doesn't-want any of the rest of us having to go through all of this without support, the way he had to._

_He did?_

_Sam was the first to phase. The elders didn't see the phase coming with him-no clue why, unless it was just not seeing and understanding what was happening-_

_-Kinda like what happened with Em here,_ Paul interrupted.

_Okay, yeah, guess so. Anyway, the elders didn't figure out what him being missing for a few weeks really meant until Old Quil saw him one day after he had finally phased back and come home_, Jared continued_. Bulked up, hair chopped off, skin hot enough to fry eggs..._

_Then it was ''Oh, duh!' Bet they felt pretty dumb for having missed that. And now..._ Paul gave a laugh. _'Oops, they did it again'._

_That's not the song title_, Jared criticized_._

_So? It fits. Embry totally went under the radar on this wolf-thing. Not that you were around a whole lot for it to get noticed, _he told me, _but really, someone besides me should have been able to add stuff up all the same._

_So why didn't they? _I asked.

_Dunno. Guess they weren't looking for it, probably because of thinking you were all Makah._

_Guess they don't seem to know as much as they think they do, do they?_ My question was rhetorical, but got answered anyway.

_Yeah, guess not. Anyway, we're supposed to be showing you the ropes, so we'd better get to it,_ Jared got things on track. _Okay, like Sam said earlier, he's the Alpha. I'm the Beta—the second in command. Paul phased third, then Jake and Quil on the same day, and now you._

_Is that why they dropped me and Bella?_ I wanted to know.

_Yeah, it is. They were wolfed out for a few days before Quil managed to phase back, and then Jake did it a couple days after that._

_Why? Is it going to take me that long?_

_They were pretty mad that Billy and Old Quil knew it was coming but didn't warn them._

_Plus, Jake didn't like it that he couldn't see Bella_, Paul noted, flashing mental images of those arguments_._

_What about me?_

_You seem like a pretty calm person overall, so you've got less anger inside than most people to begin with. And your connection with Bella isn't like anyone else's. Putting those together ought to help._

_So why did Sam think Jake was going to imprint on Bella?_ I listened intently as Jared and Paul described the pull that each wolf felt toward the imprints of other wolves.

_It was an honest mistake, but boy, has it caused problems_, Jared shook his head.

_And once I see Bella and imprint, what then_?

_**If **__you do—and there's always the chance that it won't happen-then she'll have to be filled in on everything, just like your mom. Emily and Kim can help Bella out and all of our moms will help yours._

Unwillingly, a tiny—very tiny—bit of empathy for Jake revealed itself. His preexisting crush, plus thinking Bella was meant to be his…No, I wasn't going to feel sorry for him. He could have hurt Bella, and he **had** come after me. Any sympathy I might have felt sure as hell didn't go anywhere near to covering all that. Besides, it wasn't going to matter-because Paul was going to be right about this like he had the other stuff lately.

_Why does my mom have to know?_

_So that she'll understand. You're going to be even bigger than you'd gotten before you phased, and you'll look older, too. And she'll need to be aware of the reasons why if you skip school or aren't around much in the evenings or during the night. And even if you are calm naturally, things can still set you off easy, especially in the beginning. Your mom will need to know the warning signs so that she can be careful and help talk you down._

_Patrols?_ I focused on that and not the idea that my mom would ever be in danger from me.

_We take shifts patrolling the forests around here, looking for bloodsuckers. Sam figured out a schedule for after school starts back up, but with you on board now he'll have to revise it._ Paul caught that explanation.

_Just so he keeps Jake out of my way_, I muttered_._

_And you out of his_, Jared agreed. _Definitely need to keep the two of you separated. Trust me. Sam isn't going to want to keep breaking up your fights._

_Separation can work in the short-term, Paul, _Jared commented, _but that can't last long. We're a pack of six—they're going to have to hash things out at some point. _

_I don't particularly want to fight Jake,_ I responded, _but if he comes at me again…_

I could tell that Paul agreed with me. _You did great today for being a newbie. But real fighting skills are something else you'll be practicing. We killed one vamp today, but there's another one that's been coming around, and others out there, too._

_Let's get started, then. First thing is learning how to track them…_

The guys had me start by practicing tracking scents by following a trail Jared said they'd laid earlier today. My hackles rose and my teeth bared when I caught Jake's scent mingled in with the others. But it didn't take long before I could tell each pack member's scent apart from any of the others.

_Great job. Bloodsuckers usually travel alone or in small groups of two or three. It's important to know how many we're dealing with so we can use the right strategy. And on that note, you ought to get an idea of what they smell like._

I nearly gagged when I caught the worst smell I'd ever met: a combined bleach-vinegar-cotton candy-burnt odor.

_That's bloodsucker,_ Jared informed me. _And yeah, it is the grossest thing ever._

_Is it the same one from the meadow?_

_Yep. This must've been his trail in._

I swung to follow it, going no closer to it than I had to without being so far away that I'd lose it. We broke into a clearing and more scents slammed into me: the rest of the pack and-

_You know, you really held it together well out here, _said Paul. _All that distraction talk-real smart._

Pacing around, I didn't really notice them starting to run through their perspective of the confrontation. Instead, I was drawn forward, the rich fragrance of violets beginning to fill my nostrils, driving out the vampire-stench. Before I knew it, or Jared and Paul realized it, I was tearing out of the meadow in pursuit of that irresistible aroma.

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Jared POV

_Damn it_, I thought, my brain rushing to process Embry's flight from the meadow. _Probably shouldn't have come here-he wasn't ready for that._

_It's not the vampire stench that upset him—I don't think he's upset at all. Damn, I really should have made a wager on me being right. That's Bella's scent he's following. _And once Paul pointed that fact out, it was obvious. Her violet scent led away from the meadow like the yellow brick road pointing the way to Oz.

_And what should __**we**__ be doing? _I shot back, digging my claws into the earth and starting what would almost certainly be a vain pursuit. This kid was fast, and if Paul really was right about Bella being Embry's imprint...

_You still think I'm not right?_

_No, you're right, you're right,_ I conceded. We pounded after Embry, but probably didn't stand a chance of catching him. He was almost as fast as Jake, and clearly was a wolf on a mission even without that. Maybe I could've tried ordering him to stop, but I wasn't Alpha, for one thing, and this was an imprint, for another, so I highly doubted it would have any effect.

When he got to the trailhead, both Paul and I mentally shouted at him to keep in the trees. Fortunately, his newly enhanced senses let him track at that short distance. At the highway, Paul suggested, _We've got to call Sam in—he's the only one with a shot at giving orders._

_Yeah. _I threw back my head and gave a long howl. Soon, Sam appeared in the pack mind.

_What's wrong?_

_Nothing, exactly. He's just heading for Bella's like a bat out of hell. Caught her scent in the meadow and…_

_Embry, wait! I understand that you have to make sure Bella's okay, but you have to be smart about this. __**Keep in the trees**__, and you can go to her house. You'll be able to tell if she's alright without exposing all of us to the public. __**That can't happen!**_

_Tell her—okay—good-_

_Yes, you'll tell her, Embry. But you can't just burst in and spring this on her-_

_-literally—_Paul interrupted.

_-while you're wolfed out-and especially not when her dad might be home by now. Check on Bella, but __**stay hidden**__. Jared, Paul, cut across and try to get there first, if you can._

_On it, Sam. _With that, Sam's mind faded out, and Paul and I made sharp turns to head cross-country and come near Forks from a different angle than Embry was.

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Bella POV

Charlie gave me a few funny looks during dinner, but I somehow—unbelievably—managed to pass it off as still being annoyed with Jake. I would happily put off for as long as possible his realization that Embry and I had christened my bedroom.

"He and Embry didn't fight, did they?"

"No. Embry had gone home a while earlier, so they didn't see each other." _And thank goodness for that,_ I thought. If he had been…well, we'd probably be looking at a major home renovation project to fix the damage.

After taking his plate to the sink, Charlie called his counterpart in the La Push police department, and learned that the car belonged to Paul Lahote.

"He helped Sam find you," my dad observed.

"I know. Maybe that's why he figured we wouldn't mind him leaving his car here," I said.

"Wonder why…" and Charlie went outside to look the car over. He didn't seem to have found anything when he came back inside. Then he looked up and called a phone number—Paul's, I guessed, given the message left.

"He might be on his way back already to get his car," was my suggestion.

Charlie went into the living room to watch his game, and I handled the cleanup; both usual patterns for us. But I found that my gaze kept drifting to the back door. _This is crazy._ Perhaps it was, but that didn't stop me from pulling the bag of trash from the kitchen garbage can and heading outside with it.

Twilight was falling, and shadows extended out into the yard from the treeline. The treeline, where a few hours ago I'd found the scraps of cloth. Almost without realizing it, my feet started moving that way.

"This probably isn't the smartest thing I've ever done," I mused aloud. "Not the dumbest thing—that was dating a vampire—but not one of the smartest." Then I froze when I heard a loud rustling noise from the forest. My breathing sounded too loud, but at least I had the sense not to scream. If there was something or someone out there looking for me, I didn't want it or them to get Charlie, too.

I peered into the growing darkness, trying to figure out what might have caused the sound. Almost hidden in the shadows, something indeed stood among the trees. At first, it appeared so black that it disappeared into the inky darkness, but then I saw lighter gray areas, and realized…

"A wolf," I breathed. "Oh, wow."

I couldn't get a very good look, but he—I somehow assumed it was a male—was huge. Taller than me. Way bigger than any normal wolf could ever have been—just like the wolves who'd saved Embry and me in the meadow today. _But there wasn't a black and gray one, was there?_

My feet had moved automatically, until Istood under the trees, right next to the wolf. His head lowered to watch me, and I heard an audible _sniff._ But otherwise he just stood still. Slowly, carefully, I extended my hands to lightly touch his fur, stroking through the strands on his shoulder. Then I touched his head, ears, and stroked down his muzzle. His jaw leaned into my hand just like a dog or cat would. The wolf almost seemed to sigh in pleasure at the attention.

"I probably ought to be scared of you, but I'm not. It might be crazy, but this feels…right, somehow."

The pointed ears twitched, and a _swooshing_ sound reminded me of a wagging tail. If a wolf was capable of smiling, I rather thought that he would be; as it was, his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. He sniffed me again and then…

"Eek," I squealed softly when the tip of his tongue licked my neck.

"Naughty wolf. There's only one guy who gets to kiss me, and that's not you."

He huffed, clearly offended.

"Are you?"

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Guests: Thanks. Glad you liked it. I promise I'll keep adding new chapters until the story is finished. I won't leave my readers in a black hole of never knowing how it ends. The Embry/Bella reunion is coming. True, Billy isn't presenting himself very well at the moment. Sam stepped up big time. He's the Alpha and is going to act like it. Pack life will be interesting for sure. Sorry this took a while. I went out of town a few times, got sick, got busy, had writer's block…

Jana: I'm glad you like the idea of the parents knowing about the pack. Never quite understood how they could be so oblivious in canon to the fact that their sons were changing so much physically and in maturity, disappearing all hours of the day or night, skipping school… So I decided that the parents in my story would be a lot more observant and also be let in on the secret.

Congrats to for being review #300 on Tricky Raven.

Congratulations to MrsShadow for being review #800 on FF.

Husna: Thank you very much. Thrilled you enjoyed this. Can neither confirm nor deny your daddy guess. Stay tuned. We'll find out one way or the other. I promise to never forget about my 'fan club' and will see each story through to the end.

Sabrina: I hope this translates right (if it doesn't, blame Google Translate). Je vous remercie. Je suis heureux que vous aimez cette histoire. J'espère que cela est venu assez tôt.


	37. Brown Eyes, Brown Eyes, What do you see?

Embry POV

_Keep inside the forest!_

_We can't be seen by __**anyone**__!_

_Embry, wait! I understand that you have to make sure Bella's okay, but you have to be smart about this. __**Keep in the trees**__, and you can go to her house. You'll be able to tell if she's alright without exposing all of us to the public. __**That can't happen!**_

_Tell her-okay-good-_

_Yes, you'll tell her, Embry. But you can't just burst in and spring this on her-_

_-literally-_

_-while you're wolfed out-and especially not when her dad might be home by now. Check on Bella, but __**stay hidden**__. Jared, Paul, cut across and try to get there first, if you can._

How I'd gotten from the meadow to the forest behind Bella's house was a mystery. I'd barely heard what Paul and Jared had said to me, and not paid that much more attention to Sam's directives, either. All that mattered was the scent I was pursuing, and the permission to check on Bella.

_Okay, now just stop and listen. You can pick up heartbeats pretty easy_, Paul told me.

I tried hard to clear my mind enough to be able to follow Paul's suggestion. He was right: I could clearly hear two heartbeats in the house, the sound of a baseball game on the living room TV, and the clanking and clinking of stuff in the kitchen.

_Yum. They had a good dinner tonight_, Jared added_. Okay, Embry, what did they eat? Tell us what you smell._

_Damn, that smells good, _Paul was just as appreciative_._

_I'm hungry,_ I realized.

Paul snorted. _With a cook like that around, I don't blame you. Better get used to it. As wolves, we eat a ton more than we did before we phased-and we don't gain an ounce from it. Anyway, what are you picking up?_

I stood still, ears canted toward the house, breathing deeply. It was insane how I could notice so much stuff now. _Fish, herbs, potatoes, and salad._

_Yep. Anything else?_

I inhaled deeply, dipping my head to the ground to catch every last bit of the scents bombarding me from every direction. Did I ever smell other things. It was almost a sensory overload, how much I was picking up now. Breathing in and out slowly, I tried to sort everything out. Exhaust, freshly mowed grass, the odor of garbage, forest scents...and violets. I quickly realized that Bella had been standing in almost this exact spot-and by the freshness of the aroma, not too long ago, either.

_She was here? Why?_

_This is where we phased today, after Quil and I got __**him**__ out of sight,_ Paul said. _But...all the scraps are gone. Why did she come out here, and why did she clean up after us?_

_Could she know? _Jared wondered. _Remember Jake said he told her about the legends? What if she understood what they were all about? What if the part about the Cullens wasn't the only thing she paid attention to?_

_She __**knew**__ about them being vampires? Is that one of the 'secrets that isn't hers to share'?_ I demanded.

_We don't know. Jake admitted that he told her some of the stories right after she first moved up here-probably around the same time she started associating with the Cullens. Unless she was completely under their spell or an idiot-which we know she isn't-_ Jared quickly added-_then she'd almost have to have figured at least some of it out._

_Plus, she did seem to know how much of a threat today's bloodsucker was, _noted Paul. _And on that subject, what were the two of you doing up there anyway?_

_I'm not totally sure,_ I confessed. _She just said it was a place she'd been before with Cullen and wanted to find again. Something about him-Cullen-having_ _taken something away from her, so she wanted to steal that place from him._ Before I could say anything else, my attention was drawn back to the house. The back door opened and Bella emerged carrying a bag of garbage. Darkness was starting to fall and the shadows cast by the trees would keep us from being seen. My chest expanded and contracted as my lungs drew in the renewed dose of my Bella's scent. The bag was dropped into the trashcan, but Bella didn't go back inside. Instead, she slowly began walking across the grass, heading almost straight for the spot that I was watching her from.

"This probablyisn't the smartest thing I've ever done," Bella commented quietly to herself. "Not the dumbest thing-_that_ was dating a vampire-but not one of the smartest."

An involuntary growl rumbled low in my chest at this reminder that my girlfriend had once dated someone who I now knew was a vampire-my new mortal enemy. My feet danced with the instinctive reaction to pursue and destroy, even though my prey was long gone. I must have made more noise than I thought, because Bella heard it and froze. Her eyes darted back and forth, clearly trying to figure out what the noise had been.

_Easy, Embry. She's okay. Listen to her heartbeat. Bella isn't scared. Everything is alright,_ both my new pack brothers assured me. I managed to stay where I was, listening to that soothing _thump thump_, and focusing on the rhythm of my respiration.

Instead of retreating to the house like most people would have done, Bella remained in place. Her head turned and then she was looking straight at me.

"A wolf," she breathed. "Oh, wow." Bella's feet started moving again until she stood under the trees, right next to me.

_Embry, don't move! _Paul stated firmly. _She's so close, if you move the wrong way she'd be knocked down at the least._

_Let this be her game, _suggested Jared.

Okay. I realized that the height difference between us now was probably intimidating. Slowly, carefully, I lowered my head closer to her level, and then locked my muscles into place. My move did have the advantage of bringing my snout even closer to the girl next to me and making it that much easier to gorge my olfactory receptors with everything that made her Bella. Soon, Bella's hands started to stretch out and lightly touched my fur. If I'd been a cat, I would have started to purr when her fingers began stroking through the strands of fur on my shoulder. As it was, warmth was spreading through me with each brush of skin against fur. My mind couldn't help comparing this to the times when Bella's hands had been tracking across my bare skin. But this felt just as good and rendered irrelevant any awareness that I was giving Jared and Paul another show.

_Good...so good..._

Nothing else registered for me. Bella's hands traced upward from my shoulder to my head, up my ears and then down my muzzle. Completely on its own, my jaw leaned into my hand and I sighed in pleasure at the attention.

"I probably ought to be scared of you, but I'm not. It might be crazy, but this feels…right, somehow."

The newly pointed ears on my head twitched. _This feels right! She isn't scared!_ With a _swooshing_ sound my tail telegraphed the triumph I felt. If I was capable of smiling as a wolf, I would be grinning from ear to ear right now. As it was, my tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. I couldn't help sniffing her again and then my tongue darted out for a lightning-fast lick that was as much of a kiss as I could deliver.

"Eek," Bella squealed softly when the tip of my tongue licked the side of her neck. "Naughty wolf. There's only one guy who gets to kiss me, and that's not you."

I huffed, offended. _Damn right I am the only guy who's __**ever**__ going to be kissing you for the rest of our lives._

Somehow, Bella seemed to pick up on some of what I was feeling and thinking. Her breath hitched and she asked "Are you?" in a voice that was barely audible.

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Bella POV

My words hung in the air. It couldn't be true. Could it? I felt at ease with this wolf, just like I did with Embry. The wolf hadn't liked-_hadn't liked?-_me saying he couldn't kiss me. Embry had added height and muscle lately, just like Jacob and Quil had done before they'd dropped off the edge of the earth. Only just today had I been wondering if some of the locals were living proof of the tribal legends. If others who were around the same age _had_ become the wolves I suspected them to be, then why not Embry? But how and why?

"Embry?"

Slowly, the large head bobbed in a wolf's version of a nod. My hands automatically kept stroking his fur while I tried to figured out what to say. The how and why of this still eluded me, but probably weren't all that important right now. Wolf-Embry's muscles were tense under his fur—_Does he think I'm going to freak out?_ Then I knew what to say.

"You're kinda cute, you know?"

Embry seemed to choke; the sound echoed from the nearby darkness.

"Is someone else out there?"

Another nod. From the shadows of the deeper forest, two more wolves briefly emerged for me to see, and then retreated. One seemed to be a light gray and the other might have been a dark brown.

"Should I be worried?"

Head shake.

"Okay." I shifted to lean against his shoulder, still keeping up the stroking movements my hands had been making for a little while now. "Wolf, huh? Were you surprised?" He tensed up, which I figured answered my question. "I don't blame you. I'd probably be all freaked out, personally. But you look like you're doing okay. Not foaming at the mouth or howling like crazy or anything like that. Did this just happen?"

Again, he nodded.

"Do you know what you look like? Well, like I said, you look good. You're really tall-but I guess you could figure that out just from standing next to me. Your fur...it's a mix of gray and black, it looks like. You're darker than the other gray wolf I just saw, but you're not as dark as the black wolf from the meadow. Your eyes..." I stepped back just a little and tried to look. My eyes couldn't pick up too much detail now that it was decidedly twilight and we were in the shadow the trees besides, so I returned to my position right next to Embry. "I'm not exactly sure what your eyes look like, but that doesn't really matter. You were Embry before, and you're still Embry now. That hasn't changed." I kept on for a while with the same kind of easy patter, and he gradually started to relax.

"Charlie's going to notice I'm not in the kitchen anymore if I stay out here much longer. The game must be a good one if he hasn't realized by now. I'd really like a goodnight kiss before I go, but I don't want to get fur or wolf-drool in my mouth. If you had your human face back, it would be so much better."

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Embry POV

Oh, I liked Bella's idea. I liked it a lot. A low rumbling purr of a growl vibrated in my throat. It ran through Bella, too, sending a wave of irresistible arousal into the air. My mind flashed yet again to our recent activities and how much I wanted a repeat.

_Damn you, Embry! Don't think about her like that! Bella's not a piece of meat! _Turning up like some damned bad penny, Jacob's voice pierced the pack mind. I fought to shut down my visuals-no way would he _ever _deserve to see my Bella this way.

_Mine, Jacob. Bella is __**mine**__! _I growled low in warning. Pack brother or not, he was just cruising for another bruising if he didn't shut up.

"Is it a vampire?" Bella's arousal was tainted now by fear, and she'd jumped back a step.

My head shook slowly from side to side. I tried not to look at Bella; Jacob had no right to see her through my eyes.

"Do you hear something else?

A nod this time. My head turned in the direction of La Push and I growled again.

"Is it Jacob?" Bella guessed, with her usual unerring-and uncanny-accuracy.

Now my teeth bared. _Get the fuck out of my head!_ I snarled at my former friend.

_Why should I? Think you'll get special treatment just because you're new for doing something you shouldn't have? Sam's gonna order you away from her the second he hears about this._

_Sam already knows we're here, dumbass, _Paul retorted. _He knows Embry won't hurt Bella._

_What? Is Sam favoring his baby brother already? Are you? Or is Embry sucking up like the teacher's pet?_

_No one knows who his father was right now, Jake, _Jared said. _But the elders will be working to find that out. What are you doing? You know Sam ordered you not to talk about this._

_I'm __**not**__ talking, _sneered Jacob, _I'm thinking. Big difference._

_Split hairs like that, and Sam really will give you that smackdown, _warned Paul.

_Sure, sure. _Bitterness dripped like acid. _I won't be new and inexperienced forever. And you can't hide at Sam's heels forever, Embry._

_I'm not hiding at anyone's heels, asshole. _

_Jacob, you need to phase back human, _Jared stated. _ Don't make things any worse because you're angry. This whole mess today got started because Sam agreed to let you see Bella after what she'd been through in the meadow. Embry had just as much right to check on her after what you nearly did. _

_I had to wait over two weeks and he gets to see her the same day! How is that fair?_

_Life isn't fair. _How well I knew that.

_Poor little bastard, _contempt oozed out with every wordJake spoke/thought_, without a dad who wanted him. Hell, maybe he never knew about you to begin with. I bet your mom didn't even know who it was and that's why she never said anything._

Blind rage covered everything in a red haze. My fur was suddenly standing on end and my lungs expanded in preparation to howl my fury. But the deafening howl I was about to let loose was forestalled by Bella placing her hands on either side of my face and saying,

"Embry, whatever it is, whatever he's said, _don't listen._ Please. Listen to me. Focus on me. Embry, I want-I need-you to kiss me now, like you did before. I want your arms around me. Can you do that?"

Instantly, my overriding desire wasn't to tear Jacob to shreds; instead, it was doing everything Bella had just asked me to do, everything _I_ wanted to do. My nose pressed into her stomach, pushing her backward away from me.

_Think about being human again. Two legs. Arms. Skin. _Paul offered the coaching advice. I blocked out the crap Jacob was continuing to spew out, focusing on Bella's scent and words. Much less painfully this time, I made the shift from one form to the other, ending up in a crouch on the forest floor in front of Bella. I barely had time to even think about standing up before she crashed against me, sending me backward to land on the ground. Her arms wrapped around me as much as they could, and mine echoed in a tight grasp around her back. I could feel her heart pounding against my chest and her breath whispering into the hollow of my throat.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

"I am now. What about you?"

"I'm fine. Confused, but fine." Bella shifted her hands to my shoulders and tried pushing upward. Suddenly, I was more terrified than I'd ever been in my entire life. What if Paul-if everyone-had been wrong and Jake was right? What if I didn't imprint on Bella? How would I deal with that? I wanted to look at her so that it could happen-desperately so-but I was abruptly scared to let her move in case it didn't. Bella pushed against me again, and I had to force my arms to release the grip that kept her next to me. She sat up-which was when I realized that she was astride my stomach and I was naked underneath her.

"What happened? Can you tell me?"

Our eyes made contact, and I was incapable of saying anything. Instead of a red haze, it was a blinding white-gold glow. We were no longer on the forest floor, but in some indeterminate place. All I could focus on was brown eyes, brown hair, pale creamy skin, dusty pink lips. Lips... I was supposed to kiss those lips. Before the thought registered, I pulled Bella down against me, merging our lips in a fierce kiss, plundering her mouth with my tongue. My hands plunged into the thick wavy strands of her hair, making sure that she didn't go anyway. Not that she was planning to. Bella's hands pulled on the tangled mass of my own hair, and she moaned into my mouth.

"Embry!" My name spoken by two different voices yanked me out of that blissful oblivion. My lips were still touching Bella's and managed to capture most of her involuntary shriek of surprise. Reluctantly, I moved one hand to the ground to give me leverage to sit up. Even though I was human now, I still growled my irritation at the interruption.

"Damn, I really should have made wagers on this," Paul laughed.

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Bella POV

"What was that?" I breathed. And I didn't mean the whopper of a kiss I'd just gotten—it was the whole earth-turning whatever-it-was right before that. I might not understand it, but I sure liked it. Hoping for a repeat, I started to lean closer to Embry—when had we sat upright?—only to be jerked back into reality by a pair of voices loudly calling Embry's name.

The abrupt realization that Embry and I weren't alone here nicely distracted me from the fact that I was literally sitting on top of Embry's erection. My mind knew I was still sore from earlier, but my body was starting to whisper that it didn't matter.

"Who are you?" I demanded, embarrassment quickly shifting on the emotional spectrum toward anger.

"Paul." "Jared." Two disembodied voices answered me. Rationally, I should probably have been shocked that a couple guys I knew of—not to mention my boyfriend—were actually wolves. But since I'd practically come to this exact conclusion only a little while ago, I wasn't really all that surprised.

"Paul, your car is still parked out in front of my house. My dad noticed, called La Push for information, and already left a phone message for you about it. You might want to come pick the car up soon, before Charlie does any more digging."

"Fuck," his voice growled from the shadows. "Damn it, I forgot about that completely." There quickly followed the sound of a head-slap.

"I told Charlie you were probably on your way to get it already," I said.

"And just what would your dad say if a naked guy showed up in front of his house to get the car?"

"Naked?" I choked, face instantly flaming.

"As a jaybird," he laughed. "Didn't have time to strip before I phased today, so nothing handy to put on now. Thanks for cleaning that mess up, by the way."

"You're welcome," I replied automatically.

"So, what? You're going to drive back to the rez naked?" the other voice-Jared's-asked amid laughter.

Paul chuckled. "Like this would be the first time."

"Still, all things considered, that might not be the best idea tonight."

"I should have some spares in the trunk, and the car ought to still be unlocked."

"If Charlie didn't lock it and pocket the keys while he was looking things over," I observed. "Cops are all about deterring thieves and hooligans."

"Well, maybe the spirits will be with me, and I won't have to worry about it. You two, on the other hand…Jared, you think you can handle getting our boy Embry back to La Push solo?"

"As long as he doesn't do another track team try-out, sure."

"Handle me? I'm not going anywhere!" Embry protested.

"Have to," Paul countered. "Bella's already said her dad'll be looking for her soon. Him finding the two of you outside in the dark and with you naked…you really don't want your first night as a wolf to end with Sue Clearwater digging buckshot out of your butt."

"Charlie doesn't unload his guns at home anymore," I agreed. "He likes you a lot, but he'd still rather think of me as his baby girl and not as a practically adult woman."

"I don't want to leave you," Embry whispered, face buried in the crook of my neck.

"And I don't want you to," was my return confession. "But we were going to take tonight to think about what happened today, remember? And you've got even more to work through now. We'll meet up tomorrow and lay everything out, okay?" For that matter, _I _had even more to think about.

"Come down to La Push," Jared said. "There's quite a bit that Embry doesn't know to tell you yet, and you ought to meet everyone officially."

"Will Jacob be there?" I asked bitterly.

"In a full body-cast," Paul snorted. "Nah. Sam'll come down on him for what he just pulled—and make sure he and Embry aren't anywhere close to each other."

"Come down for breakfast," continued Jared. "Sam's wife Emily is an incredible cook and she'll have a full spread laid out."

I remembered the little family I'd seen in the rez store that one day, and the pretty young woman who'd been pushing a stroller. I hadn't thought very kindly of her at the time—being reminded of what I didn't want to think about would tend to cause that—but if Embry was part of whatever this was now, then I owed it to both of us to turn over the proverbial leaf. I looked down at Embry to see what he thought; he only shrugged his shoulders up and down.

"Okay. Can I bring anything?"

"She'll appreciate the offer, but you don't have to—at least this time. Short notice and all."

"Alright."

"Come on, Embry. Let's go," urged Jared.

Reluctantly, Embry lifted me up until I could get my feet under me,

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," I agreed.

"I'll be around in a few minutes for my car," said Paul. "Can you back me up if necessary?"

"I'll try."

Paul headed around the side of the house and Jared literally pulled Embry deeper into the forest. They were quickly lost to my sight and I hurried back inside the house.

"Where were you, Bells?" Charlie's voice coming from the kitchen doorway made me jump.

"I just took the trash out. I didn't want the fish remnants stinking up my kitchen. It was nice and peaceful out there so I stayed for a little bit to enjoy it. How's the game?"

"Mariners let it slip away from them…again."

"Sorry." I smiled in commiseration that I didn't really feel, and headed to switch out the loads of laundry.

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Narrator POV

The glee of having been right so many times today was cold comfort to Paul Lahote right now. The spirits were laughing at him for sure. A quick special-ops sneak around the house to his car proved that Bella Swan had indeed been right about her security-conscious dad. So now he was going to have to walk up to the door stark naked and ask for his keys. That was sure going to earn him points with the cop and pave the way for Bella's integration into the pack's sphere—not. A citation for public lewdness was a great foundation for friendship—hah. Unless…

He kept to the treeline and worked his way along the back yards going down the street. The third house down, he struck paydirt. Laundry had been left out on the clothesline. A pair of boxers would have to do. Okay, now for a cover story…

"Hey, Chief Swan," he said when the door opened. "Can I get my car keys back?"

"Paul Lahote?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry about leaving my car here. Hope it wasn't a problem." Stage one: stun the chief, complete. Charlie Swan just stared at him. Stage two…

"Sir?"

"Why are you standing on my porch practically naked?"

"I had a misadventure and my spare clothes are in the trunk of my locked car. If I could get my keys, I can get dressed again."

"Misadventure?" The chief's brows rose.

"Yeah," Paul gave a shrug and a small smirk. "I had to make a sudden departure and my clothes were an unfortunate casualty."

A surprising light of humor lit the brown eyes Charlie shared with his daughter. "Who was she?"

"Chief!"

"Just because La Push isn't my jurisdiction doesn't mean I don't know your reputation. Anytime a guy walks around in public like that, a girl is involved somehow."

"I never kiss and tell. That would be rude."

"At least tell me I won't have some irate father on my back to arrest you for corruption of a minor."

"Legal is the only way to go. Scout's honor."

"Dad, who's there?"

"Just Paul Lahote here for his keys. Mind grabbing them off the table, Bells?"

"Sure." Light footsteps heralded Bella's arrival at the door. "Here—nice shorts."

Paul finally looked down at his 'borrowed' shorts and had no choice but to laugh. The boxers were patterned with red and pink love hearts. "Would you believe me if I said they were my mom's idea of a joke?"

"That depends on your mom."

"Stop by sometime with Embry and meet her. See for yourself."

"I'm planning to spend tomorrow with Embry, so I guess we can see."

"You know him, Bells?" Charlie asked his daughter.

"In passing."

Charlie's eyes narrowed. "You keep your hands off my daughter, Lahote. We clear about that?"

"Crystal, Chief. Bella will be just like my little sister. She's Embry's girl, and no guy comes between a brother and his girl."

"Get moving, boy," Charlie told Paul.

"Yes, sir. See you 'round, Bella." With a jaunty salute, Paul headed for his car, pulled on his spare clothes, and started the drive home. He kept the car right at the speed limit, not wanting to find himself in the middle of the coming shitstorm any sooner than he had to.

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marie potter riddle: Thanks. Glad you loved it and hope this came soon enough (apologies if it didn't).

Guest: Thank you so much! Sorry this took a while. Had a few busy weeks/weekends, and it took a while to figure out the details of the broad strokes I'd outlined for this chapter.

Frekles: Thank you. I certainly will "keep it up". You're right that there are many unanswered questions at this point, and I will work hard to see that they all get answered. If you ever see something that appears to have slipped through the cracks, let me know.

Lenniem: Don't worry. I do like happy endings, so however rough things might appear to be, all will be well (at least for the good guys) in the end.

Foxtale3: Thanks for your patience while I work through hectic schedules and major writer's block to produce each new chapter. I know that this story might have seemed to start off slow, but I think that can help set a strong foundation for the rest of the story. I'm not really a big fan of stories where Bella just jumps into bed with a wolf like her heartbreak never happened. Bella and Embry have built a strong relationship as normal people and that will (I suspect) really help them now that they're in the middle of the supernatural.

Congrats to Bugsmamawolf for being review #850 and to Peanut7890 for being review #875 on .

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AN: Sorry this took so long. Some really busy weeks and weekends to wrap up my summer and start the new school year, and a granite wall of writer's block in getting my ideas to exit my brain. But I finally got the creative juices flowing this week, and the chapter written. Hope this nice long chapter was worth the wait. Review replies will come a little slower this time. Have a family wedding tomorrow and I'm not taking my laptop with me.


	38. Back to La Push

Guest(1): Yes, classic Paul. Arse-kicking in some fashion is certainly possible. I've no doubt that Bella still has more to say to Jake, especially with what he just pulled (and probably will have even more motivation if/when she finds out exactly what Jake was saying.

Guest(2): Yes, she does. And yes, we had an imprint. Jake is absolutely being an a**, and Bella knows that too.

Jana: Thank you very much. Thrilled that you loved it and I'm very thankful for the compliments. I try to write the kinds of stories that I like to read. Paul is a riot to write here. Total scene-stealer. I think people sometimes don't like him because he's portrayed as being a jerk or violent, etc. I'm glad you find this exciting. It's a bit overwhelming to be told this is better than the books, but I'll try to keep to the same high standard as always.

Guest(3): Fantastic is a good word. can offer alternatives if you think they're needed. Glad that this chapter came out well, including Bella's reaction. I figured she wouldn't be too shocked, given what she'd been thinking about earlier. Paul's great to write.

Guest(4): Thanks. I wanted to find a plausible reason for why Paul would be coming to get his keys in only a pair of boxers. Making a quick escape from seeing a girl seemed to fit the bill. Charlie would know what young people (especially Paul) are like and not raise too many questions.

Guest(5): Great. Glad you love it.

Congrats to Guest(3) for being review #900 for this story on FF. The response for this story has been phenomenal and I'm grateful for each and every reader and reviewer.

AN: In the interest of full disclosure, there is a spoiler for Harry Potter #7 in this chapter. I had someone spoil this part of the book for me when it got released and I don't want to pass on that experience to anyone else.

This came together really fast and easy. Hope everyone enjoys. I have not forgotten about "Revenge is a Dish" but I'm blocked there and running with inspiration for this story as long as it keeps coming. Revenge will update as soon as I get things figured out and put together.

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Embry POV

"Embry. Embry, come on," Jared literally pulled me into the forest. I didn't fight him, but I was sure dragging my feet. "It's hard, I know. But she's safe with her dad, and you'll see her tomorrow."

"Is it like this for you?"

"Yeah. The imprinting was—is—really strong in the beginning-the whole 'new' factor-but after a while it settled down some for me—and it will for you, too. Mine is back to being pretty intense again now."

"Why?"

Jared considered for a few seconds. "Kim is pregnant. It makes me feel the urge to protect our pup as well as my mate."

"Oh."

"I'll phase first and make sure the coast is clear, then you can try phasing back and we'll head home. We should probably go and check in at Sam and Emily's place first and then you ought to be able to go home for the night."

"Okay."

"Why don't you watch me and get a feel for it? Doubt you paid much attention earlier."

"I had a big-ass wolf about to chomp me for dinner. No, I sure as hell _wasn't _paying attention to anything else." But I still turned my head back toward Bella's now-invisible house. Jared waited patiently until I turned back.

"You're naked!" I blurted out.

He laughed. "Yeah. Like Paul said, the whole rapid phase thing shredded everybody's clothes today. He and Quil lost theirs trying to haul ass and catch up before Jake tore into you. Sam and I actually held onto ours until the whole phase in your backyard thing happened. Like you said, there was a pissed off werewolf looking to tear into you, so I'm not really surprised you didn't take much notice of the rest of us. Not a bad thing actually-shows you can focus on the priorities and ignore the unimportant stuff."

I kept my eyes firmly above his waist, but did watch the process. Even so...maybe someone with a high-speed camera could figure it out, but I couldn't. After a minute or so, Jared yipped softly and jerked his head in a 'come on' gesture. Clearly, Jake wasn't around anymore. Fine by me. Now, how to do this? Well, if thinking calm thoughts and about Bella had gotten me from wolf to human earlier, then angry thoughts-Jake thoughts-ought to take me the other direction.

_Bastard. Unwelcome. Unwanted. Unknown._

It worked. Anger roiled through me, I shuddered, and phased. Jared didn't have to ask about my motivation-he could see it. He kept quiet, though.

_Okay, you did that really well. Sam will go over some stuff once we get back and more of it tomorrow, but in the meantime...we patrol over most of the peninsula and national forest daily. Sam works it out so the ones in school don't miss much, but the school works with us, too, on excusing absences for pack stuff._

_What about me? I'm going to be taking some classes in Forks this year._

_That's...inconvenient. We can't make the same kind of arrangement with them. You couldn't just drop that? _

_Enroll and then back out right away? Yeah, that wouldn't attract any attention. Especially since-_ my thoughts flashed back to the encounter with Mike Newton in the Outfitters store and his reaction to learning Bella and I were dating and that I'd be coming there for classes. _Besides, I've been looking forward to this and so has Bella._

_Tell Sam about that Newton kid. I have a feeling you've got a golden ticket there. No one messes with imprints. You'll need the daily contact to help solidify the imprint bond, and if you're at school with Bella you can look out for her. You'll just have to be extra careful about not losing your temper._

Jared kept things light but informative on our trek back to La Push. Once we got close, he led the way to approach Sam's house from the forest side.

_I'll go first again and grab us both some shorts. There are usually spare pairs hidden outside most of our houses for situations like this. _

Jared split off, phased, and tossed a pair of said shorts my way. My hollow stomach provided all the motivation I needed in order to phase, too. Jared joined me on the porch and led the way inside. "We're pretty informal here. Open door policy unless it's shut. Hey, Emily. This is Embry, the newest member of the pack. Emby, Emily. She's Sam's imprint and wife."

A pretty dark-haired woman looked up at us. "Hello, Jared. Welcome, Embry. Help yourself. Sam will be right back; he just went to put Levi to bed."

I nodded and said, "Hi" back to her, but my attention was all on the food spread over the countertop. My plate was only half filled when Sam entered the room.

"Embry? How the hell did you phase back this fast?"

"Which time?" I mumbled around the biscuit I'd stuffed into my mouth. "Just now, I was starving. At Bella's, I had Jacob-fucking-Black in my head. Guess I was _r__eally_ motivated both times."

"Jacob?" Sam snarled. "What the hell has he done now?"

"You didn't tell Jake not to phase in that list of orders you gave him earlier," Paul breezed into the cabin. "He took advantage and went for the jugular-figuratively this time. Damn, but that girl sure knew what was going on, seemed like. Kept Embry from doing more than growl, and got him to phase out nice as you please." The latecomer paused to wait for reactions, but there weren't any. At least, not until Emily lost the battle and started laughing hysterically. I just stared, Jared slid out of his chair to land on the floor, and even Sam's poker face cracked.

"Should I even ask?" Sam sighed.

"Probably not," Paul smirked and launched into the story behind his colorful borrowed boxers. I really didn't pay much attention to what he said, not with his shorts on display.

"You walked up to her house wearing _those_?" I muttered it under my breath, but everyone clearly heard me.

"I could've walked up there wearing nothing at all, but I didn't figure that would go over well with the chief. Bella played along great-oh, she'll be coming down for breakfast tomorrow, Emily."

"That's good. Will Kim be up to coming, Jared?"

"I'll ask."

"What-never mind, you come back out with me and just show me what happened," said Sam. He stopped and looked back at me. "You phased human at Bella's?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I had the jerk in my head, and she was outside and-"

"What happened?"

"You'll probably need to see it to believe it," Paul said with a grin.

Sam nodded. "Did you imprint?"

"If that was the bright white light, nothing else matters bit, then yeah." My lips curved automatically, remembering the grab and pull move that had brought Bella against me.

"He did," agreed Jared. "Getting him to leave wasn't that easy. But she didn't want him getting caught by her dad and said they'd talk tomorrow, so we managed it."

Sam rubbed his face with both hands. "Congratulations. Okay, Embry and Jared, eat. Paul, come with me."

The two of them disappeared and the rest of us started eating.

"How are you handling this, Embry" asked Emily.

I shrugged. "Dunno. I didn't run to Canada, so that's something, right?"

"Probably," she agreed. "Any questions?"

"Jared said Sam would handle it. I don't even know what questions to ask right now."

"That's understandable. When you don't know what's going on, trying to figure out what the questions should be isn't easy. If you boys knew it was coming..." her voice trailed off.

"Like that'll happen," Jared scoffed. "Emily, you know what Sam went through to get the council to agree that families should be told after it happened. Trying to get them to agree to telling the guys it might happen to _before_ it happens...never happening."

"How do you think Bella will react to what she'll be told?"

Jared snorted his drink our his nose, earning a look from Emily. "She wasn't scared of the wolf, said Embry was still who he'd always been, and she didn't want him to leave any more than he wanted to. My guess is, she'll accept it pretty easy. Others..." he trailed off. "Did Sam say how the council meeting went?"

"About like you'd expect," Sam answered, coming back inside and heading for the food with Paul right behind him. "Confused, upset, and pretty much everything else. They want answers just like everyone else, including us. Embry, I saw your mom earlier and gave her an overview of what's going on. She knows it means we need to know about your dad, so hopefully she'll share that information soon."

"You told her already?"

"The opportunity presented itself and there was no sense in waiting. She needed to know what you are now so she'd be aware of warning signs and be able to help you. **You will not hurt your mother, Embry**. If you get angry, run outside. Get away from her or anyone else who riles you up."

"And Jacob?" I retorted bitterly.

"I'll deal with him tomorrow. When _I_ don't want to rip his head off. I'll do what I can in the short-term, but long-term…we'll have to figure something out. There's only six of us, so keeping you two apart indefinitely won't be possible. For this week, I'll have you patrol with Paul; Jared, sorry, but you get Jake. Quil and I will buffer between your shifts so you won't have contact that way."

"Okay. Fine. What else do I need to know now?"

Sam ran through a few things, like how I was a lot bigger than I had been, my temperature was now a constant 108 degrees, and that I'd usually be hungry. Like Jared figured, Sam gave a qualified okay to me attending the classes at Forks High like I'd planned.

"That's probably enough for tonight. Most of the rest of it should probably wait for Bella to hear, too."

"Embry, do you want your mom to cut your hair, or would you like me to take care of that?" Emily asked

"What?"

"Long hair and phasing isn't a good combination. Stuff gets caught in it all the time if it's too long and that's a killer," commented Jared. Reflexively, my hands went up to my head and almost instantly got tangled.

"Mom's always cut it for me, so I guess I'll do that."

"Okay, then," Sam said. "Go on home and talk to your mom."

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Sam POV

I crashed into bed next to Emily and wondered how and when today had spun out of control.

"It'll be okay," my wife whispered, shifting to lay her head on my shoulder.

"I sure hope so. Embry and Jacob in the same pack is an explosion waiting to happen. It's anybody's guess whether or not Embry's mom will cooperate and name his father-it isn't like we can do DNA tests on every male in the tribe to find out. We really don't know for sure how Bella will respond to everything she'll hear tomorrow, or about the imprint."

"You're worried about how Jacob will react, too," Emily stated.

"I am. He attacked Embry just for dating her and having sex with her-and out of anger that _he_ hadn't imprinted on the girl. Once Jacob finds out that she's Embry's imprint..."

"Will you Alpha-order him if it's necessary?"

I sighed heavily and wrapped my arms around her. "I might not have a choice. I won't have him attacking Bella and Embry-physically or verbally—at least, not again. Jacob was a handful to deal with anyway, but that little rank idea he got somehow...I wish I knew what the hell he's thinking-and Billy, too. He had to have been the one who told Jacob about Ephraim having been the Alpha in the last pack."

"Didn't you say that he reacted really strongly at the council meeting to Embry joining the pack and the possibility of him imprinting on Bella?"

"_Too_ strongly, almost..." my low voice trailed off as a terrible thought took shape. Emily seemed to sense and share it.

"He couldn't be Embry's father, could he?"

"Spirits, Em, I hope not. He's practically been a surrogate father to Embry for years now. If he was doing that but not stepping up as a real father...I'd rather it be practically anyone else-even Joshua-than for it to be Billy."

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Narrator POV

"I almost feel bad for asking this, but…please tell me it wasn't you, Harry."

Harry Clearwater sat down beside his wife and laid his hands on her shoulders.

"Sue, I swear that it wasn't me. I never met Tiffany Call before she moved here. Embry is a fine boy, and one that any man ought to be proud to claim. But he isn't mine."

Sue wiped her eyes. "I knew it couldn't have been you, but I just had to hear you say it."

"I know. You probably aren't the only woman thinking or asking that question right now."

"Then who do you think it was?" Sue asked.

"I don't know," he sighed. "Old Quil certainly seems to have been holding his cards close to the vest lately, having suspicions that Bella might end up with Embry and not with Jacob."

"Could it be a family interest? Is it possible that it could have been his son, and that was why he kept quiet about his doubts?"

"Possible? Yes, I suppose so. Four could have fished up that way. Or he and Tiffany could have met somewhere else, too. Nothing says it happened up at Neah Bay." Harry looked at his wife and pulled her into his embrace. "Sue, relax. We're just going to have to wait and see."

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Alison Uley cleaned her house in an effort to relax. She'd been a bit on edge since parting ways with her son after their visit to Tiffany Call. Alison could understand the other woman's fierce desire to protect her son. More than once over the years, she had fought to ensure that Sam would be judged on his own merits and not held responsible for the sins of his long-absent father.

Joshua Uley had been the "tall, dark, and handsome" of most young girls' dreams, and a member of one of La Push's leading families to boot. She'd had those dreams herself, and been thrilled when they'd come true. Yet, there had been something restless about Josh, a wanderlust that few in the tribe had shared or even understood. Maybe she'd pushed him too soon about marrying and then starting a family and he hadn't been ready. Perhaps it had been the pressure of settling down and living up to the examples of his father and grandfather. Whatever the cause, Josh had become increasingly distant throughout her pregnancy and Sam's infancy. By the time their son had reached toddlerhood, it was far more common for Joshua to be gone than to be found in La Push. And before Sam had started preschool, his father had been gone for good, with only a couple brief visits back since.

As Sam had said tonight, it would be not at all unexpected for it to turn out that Joshua had used that distance and freedom to seek female companionship, and for him to not have been diligent where protection was concerned. Alison reflected that it would certainly hurt to know for certain that her husband had so dramatically shunned his upbringing and turned his back on not just one family but two, but as Sam had said, better it be Joshua than most of the other potential candidates.

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Embry POV

I'd never been any less eager to go home than I was right now. I wasn't anywhere close to the person I'd been when I'd said goodbye to my mom this morning. What was I supposed to say to her? Now that I was aware that whatever I'd thought I knew about my family history was wrong? What was Mom going to say to me now that she knew at least some of what had happened today, thanks to that visit from Sam and his mom? Would she be willing to give me the answers now that she hadn't before? There was only one way to find out.

"Mom?"

"Embry?" she appeared in the kitchen doorway, worry plain on her face. "Are you alright?"

I shrugged. "I guess so. I feel like I've stepped into an episode of _The Twilight Zone_, I'm tired, filthy, sore, and confused."

"Are you hungry?"

I started to say, "No," because Emily Uley had stuffed all of us before letting anyone go home, but I realized that I was still hungry after all. "Yeah."

"I can fix you something while you take a shower."

"That would be great, Mom. And I'll need a haircut, too."

Her breath hitched, but she didn't say anything. Equally silent, I headed for my bedroom and then the bathroom. While I ended up cleaner than when I started, the shower wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped. The spray of water barely qualified as tepid, and the floor drain ended up clogged by the debris that was dislodged from my hair. I finally resorted to a rough hack job to get the worst out and would let my mom clean it up. A pair of now too-short sweatpants met the same fate when I chopped them into shorts.

"How do you feel? Are you hurt? Is this stuff okay? I can make something else if-"

I cut her off. "Mom, I'm fine. If it's food and cooked, then whatever you fixed is fine. Apparently we eat pretty much anything edible. Apologies in advance for the grocery bill," I tried to offer something like my usual smile.

"We'll manage. It'll be alright. Eat. I'll trim your hair after you're done."

Mom sat across the table from me and fiddled with her coffee mug while she watched me eat. The silence could have—should have—been awkward, but thankfully it wasn't. The coming conversation would almost have to be a tough one, and so the quiet beforehand was welcome. I washed my dishes when I was done and Mom used that as her cue to get the hair trimmer.

"How is Bella?" Mom's opening question was a fairly easy one.

"She's fine. She's coming down tomorrow so we can both get filled in on some stuff."

"You get to tell her?"

_Oh, boy. Loaded question, Mom._ "Yeah, I do. She's…Bella's apparently what they call my imprint."

"Your 'forever'?"

I was stunned. "You know about that?"

"The Uley's stopped by right after I got home. They told me a few things, but I didn't really believe them. Not even after I watched Sam…"

"I know. Part of me doesn't quite believe it, either. But it's real. And, yeah, she is my forever, and I'm hers."

"Just don't rush…"

"Mom, wolf thing or no wolf thing, both Bella and I still have some growing up to do. I don't know everything about the imprint yet, and Bella doesn't know anything. Sam and Jared and theirs can fill us both in."

"So you'll be spending time with Sam Uley and his friends now?"

"Yeah. Looks like. Shared experiences and all that. Don't know much about Sam yet, but Paul's pretty cool and Jared seems okay. Quil chose Jake, so I have no idea where he and I stand."

"And Jacob?"

My teeth bared unconsciously. "That—jerk—better keep his distance."

Mom paused in her work and laid a hand on my shoulder. I tried not to flinch at her automatic recoil from my abnormally high new temperature. A deep breath and her hand returned to my shoulder. "What happened?"

I found myself telling her some of the lowlights of my unexpected reunion with Jacob Black while the haircut he had ultimately provoked was finished up. "I can't believe he used to be my best friend. How he could take a knife—_that_ knife—and stab me in the back with it." Taking a deep breath, I asked the question of questions yet again. "Mom, who was he? Who was my dad?"

"Embry…" Even though she was still behind me and out of my sight, I could hear and even feel the tension in my mother just now. But _I_ needed to know this. "Embry, what would it change if you did know a name? Has it really been that bad just being the two of us?"

"You've been a great mom," I twisted in my chair to take hold of her hands. "But you know I've always wondered who he was. And now I know that it is something completely different than what I've believed to be true, because of what happened to me today. I deserve to know who made this possible."

"Since the day you were born—before that, even—I've done everything I could to protect you and look out for you. I'm not going to stop that just because you're now a—a wolf. A name would help nothing; it would only hurt. I haven't asked you for private details of your relationship with Bella, and I'm asking for you to give me the same courtesy."

Knowing it would surely be futile, I pushed the issue a little more, arguing that the comparison wasn't a valid one. But as I knew she would, Mom refused to say anything more. Remembering Sam's warning about walking away, I ended up doing just that. I found my cell phone sitting on my desk and used it to send a text to Bella with Sam's address and how to find his house. Then I tried to go to bed. My feet hung off the end of the mattress—_thank goodness I don't have a footboard on this bed_. Sleep was elusive. My thoughts whirled endlessly through everything that had happened today and with speculations of what tomorrow would bring.

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Bella POV

Sleep came late to me. I'd escaped upstairs to my bedroom to avoid any questions from Charlie about pretty much anything. But left to myself, thoughts no more pleasant than those of an avoided conversation filled my mind instead. The conversation starters I'd played with earlier this evening didn't sound any better now than they had then, even if Embry probably wouldn't think me crazy now if I mentioned vampires. But still, how to share all those things…Even though I was more of an English literature fan than American, I'd borrow the philosophy of Scarlett O'Hara and think about that tomorrow.

To distract myself, I thought of Embry. Remembering what had happened in this very room only this afternoon warmed me again. Warmth became blazing heat when I recalled the follow-up outside just minutes ago. Kissing Embry like that when others had been watching us? When he'd been naked underneath me? And that white light? It reminded me of that scene in the last Harry Potter movie, when Harry had died and met his old professor in that place of blinding white light. It had been a place of decisions: go on or go back, give up or take a chance. I wondered why it had happened this time with Embry instead of any time before this. Did it matter? It _had_ happened. And if it happened once, it could hopefully be repeated. To such pleasurable thoughts, I finally fell asleep.

Despite my late night, I woke up early again today, just like I had yesterday, and got ready. Just as much time and thought went into it now, though for a very different reason than before. I didn't know what Miss Manners or Emily Post would say about preparing for a first meeting with a pack of werewolves, but I wanted to put my best foot forward. So I scrubbed, shaved, and sprayed-I remembered how Paul and Quil had used their noses at my house yesterday and didn't want to take any chances on what anyone else might smell.

My outfit was chosen with equal care. After considering my options, I selected a grey knit top with a black floral design all over the fabric, black trim around the deep v-neck, and black ties that formed a bow at my back, with a lighter grey lace camisole underneath. I was quite aware that this was the same color scheme as Embry's wolf; I was going into this making it absolutely clear who I was with. I didn't have any idea whether or not Jacob would be there, but I wasn't taking any chances. What, exactly, he'd been saying to Embry last night, I didn't know; but for my even-tempered boyfriend to have reacted like he did...too bad I didn't own a pair of steel-toed boots. Maybe that would make an impression in Jake's skull...or somewhere else farther south.

Even though Jared had said I didn't need to bring anything to this breakfast meet and greet, I felt bad about showing up empty-handed. However, I didn't have time to make anything now, so the first demonstration of my mad cooking skills would just have to wait. I finally just grabbed the bunch of bananas off the counter, the directions to Sam's house that Embry had texted me, and got on the road. I wanted to see Embry again and try to get some answers about what had happened last night. The fact that I would be giving answers as well as getting them was part of my awareness, but I was trying really hard not to stress about it. That selective amnesia meant that I still didn't have any clue what I was going to say, but I'd deal with that when I had to.

Thoughts of cooking and La Push combined into a mental slam that hit me when I passed the turn-off that led to the Clearwater house. Leah would probably hit the roof if-or when-she learned that Embry and I were part of Sam's circle now. My resolve to give this new thing a chance wavered. Could I do this, and still be a true friend to Leah? Didn't the shared female bond of mutual breakups obligate me to treat Sam in the way Leah expected? _But you don't know Sam's side of the story, Bella,_ my innate sense of fairness reminded me. _Maybe he did have a reason for what he did. _Okay, so I'd have to ask and find out, and then see where that left me.

Embry's directions led me right to a cabin tucked away on a side street that backed up to the forest. A couple cars were parked out front, but there was still room for me to pull in.

_Okay, Bella, here goes._


	39. Meeting the Pack

Congrats to MP for being review #350 on Tricky Raven.

Congats to Aussiegirl16 for being review #950 on FF.

Guest: I am so happy that you love this story. I love it, too, which is why I sometimes take longer than anyone would like in getting updates posted: I never want to post a sub-standard chapter.

Mei fa-chan: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.

AN: Thanks to Feebes for giving chapter ideas and beta-ing what I came up with. It was a big help. Hope you all enjoy this.

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Narrator POV

Even though he was Alpha and out of his teens now, Sam had taken an almost diabolical pleasure in rousting Jacob out of bed early in the morning. Pissing off the Alpha was never a smart move, and Jacob really needed to learn that lesson fast. And then to make Jacob's day worse, he was detailed to patrol around La Push and thus miss the pack breakfast at Sam and Emily's.

Keeping Embry and Bella separated from Jacob was the smart move today, but it was a short-term solution that wouldn't last long. Sam was willing to do it today because the new couple was entitled to one Jacob-free pack breakfast, and the information-sharing would go a lot easier and faster without his presence. Quil was out on patrol as well, which made the responsible part of Sam feel better about giving the senior pack members the morning off. So he, Jared, and Paul were killing time watching sports recaps on the TV while waiting for Bella Swan to show up.

Kim had come along with Jared and was in the midst of a quiet conversation with Emily. Both young women were eager to meet and start getting to know the newest imprint-both because they welcomed another female presence, but also because they were curious about the girl who was unintentionally the focus of so much drama. Technically, Emily had already met Bella once, in the Cameron's store on the rez, but the encounter had been brief and Bella not receptive; Emily hoped for a different response today. She'd done a lot of deep thinking trying to figure out what she had said or done to make the girl bolt the way she had, and eventually realized that it might have been the reminder of Sam having been the one who had found Bella when she'd been lost in the woods.

Embry was as fidgety as a crack addict in the throes of withdrawal, but the others had the manners not to comment. Sam and Jared knew from experience just what he was going through and now nerve-wracking it was for the wolf while waiting to tell their soul mate the truth about everything. It wasn't in the girls' nature to tease, and they were distracted with their own conversation anyway. Paul might have considered saying something, but the bond that had been and still was developing between him and Embry had him toning things way down. Quil, thankfully, had volunteered-or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he'd been bribed with an early breakfast-to go out and patrol with Jacob, and so wouldn't be around to experience yet another case of the "foot and mouth" syndrome that he seemed so prone to.

The soft crunching of tires over sticks outside on the driveway brought every pair of lupine eyes toward the front door. Embry was on his feet and out the door from one blink to the next. In the time it took the rest of the group to get out to the front porch, Embry had helped Bella out of her car and was now wrapped around her petite frame.

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Embry POV

The sensation of ants crawling all over my skin that I'd been fighting since I woke up this morning finally faded away at the same time I heard the sound of Bella's car approaching.

_Bella. Mine. Bella. Mine._

I put my newly acquired speed to good use and got to Bella even before she got her car door open. Then she was up in my arms, feet hooked around my back and arms circling my neck. I used one hand to support her butt and the other plunged into her hair while my mouth claimed hers in a duel of tongues. Her scent of arousal-tinted violets was like ambrosia to me and I absorbed it like an addict getting their fix. The need to breathe finally broke the lip-lock and Paul whooping loudly behind us made Bella blush a little in automatic reflex.

"Good morning," I whispered.

"It certainly is," she agreed. "You cut your hair." Bella's hand lifted to run fingers through my now-short hair.

"Yeah. Mom helped. Easier to keep it short, apparently. What do you think?" It wasn't that I'd been especially attached to having my hair long-even if it was a bit of a cultural tradition-but I hadn't had it buzzed like this is so long that it was proving to be an adjustment.

"It's different, but it looks nice. You look...older, somehow. Even sexier than you already were," she purred. Naturally, my dick reacted instantly to both the words and her atypical boldness. Her squirm against me showed that Bella fully appreciated my predicament.

"You are evil, you know that?" I muttered.

"Then let me make it better," and she put action to words and kissed me again. No argument from me.

The throat-clearing and saying of my name by Sam reluctantly made me lower Bella back to the ground, though I wrapped one arm around her shoulders to keep her close.

"Much better," I agreed. "Rain check?" I didn't want one—wanted nothing more than to pick her back up and carry her to my empty house—but I knew that this info sharing session was necessary. So do that, and _then_ I'd take Bella away. In the meantime, I'd just have to suffer through this hard-on, and have her really make it up to me later.

"Absolutely."

I let go of Bella so that she could grab a bag out of her car and then wrapped my hand around hers and started us toward the house and the waiting group of people.

Sam took a step forward. "Bella, I'm Sam Uley, and this is my wife, Emily. That's Jared Cameron and his fiancée, Kim. And Paul Lahote." He gestured in turn to those he introduced.

"Nice to meet you all." Bella glanced around. "Missing a couple people, aren't we? Quil and Jacob, perhaps?"

"What did they tell you last night?"

"Not much. But Jacob and Quil started avoiding Embry and me, weeks ago, and hanging with you; the day Quil saw the two of us at the beach, he said you were the one in charge; and Jacob somehow bothered Embry last night...ergo, they ought to be here and aren't."

"You don't miss much, do you?" Sam asked the rhetorical question. "No, they aren't here, and won't be."

Bella's sigh was quiet but audible. "That might be best. Anytime I'm around Jacob lately I want to go out and buy a pair of steel-toed boots."

"Damn, but you're going to be fun to have around," Paul laughed.

"Paul's got a mouth on him, but he's relatively harmless," Emily said. "Come, Bella, us girls get first crack at the food—otherwise, we wouldn't get any. Quite the pack of gluttons we've got here."

"These amazing abs to the contrary," quipped Jared, gesturing around.

Bella's arm around my waist tracked along my own newly sculpted abs. "Nice," she murmured.

"Thank you. Thank you very much," I did a bad Elvis impersonation.

Emily chided, "Boys," and waved Bella toward the food.

"Oh, here," Bella held the bag out to Emily. "I know that Jared said I didn't need to bring anything, but I didn't feel right about coming empty-handed."

"He was right: you didn't have to this time, but it was certainly nice of you. Keeping this crew fed is practically a full-time job in its own right," Emily laughed, and pulled out a bunch of bananas.

"Yum, bananas," Paul grinned, the look of the devil in his eyes. "Do you like them, Bella?"

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Bella POV

Innocent I may have been until very recently, but even I could pick up on the innuendo in Paul's question. Even as I blushed, I mentally kicked myself for not seeing the potential implications of bringing something like that into a house full of guys. Somehow, though, this teasing reminded me of Emmett, and I suspected that if I didn't think of some way to stand my ground here, then Paul would be teasing me at every opportunity from here on out.

"Of course. They can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere. They're delicious and worth either taking a long time to savor or devouring quickly. And bananas are so versatile: they're great when fried and piping hot, or chilled with ice cream and chocolate sauce. Mmmm." My repartee seemed to be successful when Paul just gaped at me.

"You'll fit right in, Bella," laughed Emily, grabbing my hand and tugging me gently in the direction of the kitchen. "Rendering Paul speechless right off the bat is quite an accomplishment."

As I started to fill a plate with a sampling of incredible-looking food, I could just feel Embry's eyes fixed on the back of my neck. He'd clearly picked up the byplay, too, and a delicious feeling of anticipation started me composing the next grocery list. At the table, I was drawn into conversation with Emily and Kim about other foods I liked, and I apologized for not having actually made anything to bring today.

"Normally, I'm always cooking, but I just didn't have time last night."

"It's no problem, Bella, really. We all understand being busy. Next time if you want to bring something homemade, then that would be wonderful."

Empty plates were stacked and carried over to the sink. An expectant silence filled the room.

"We'd better get things started, Sam. We'll need to work today, remember?" Jared spoke.

Sam nodded. "Welcome, Bella. Thank you for coming, even though you may not fully understand why. It takes courage to walk into the unknown and we appreciate that. We're here to answer any questions you have, whenever you have them. Hopefully this can be the first day of some new friendships."

"Um...okay. I guess we'll see what happens. But, first...I'm sorry if this comes off sounding rude, but I need to know about you and Leah," I said. I hadn't exactly been planning for that to come out first thing, but it was important for me to understand.

I heard a snort off to one side. "Damn, girl, do you _always_ jump into the deep end of the pool right off the bat?"

"Maybe," I conceded, not letting myself get sidetracked. "But Leah is my friend. She was there for me when I really needed that support, and I need to know if I need to be there for her, too."

"She deserves a friend like you," Sam mused. "Bella, I _never_ meant to hurt Leah and I will never forget that I did exactly that. My stubbornness and selfishness hurt someone that I cared about, and that isn't right. The fact that there were reasons behind what happened doesn't really matter—Leah doesn't know them, and can't. You do have every right to know what happened-and not just because you're Leah's friend. I will tell you what happened, but I would like to do that after we've covered some other things first, so that it will make more sense. Okay?"

The tone made the final question come out more like a statement that he was expecting me to agree to. My knee-jerk reaction was to think _No, it isn't okay_, but that would make me seem petty. Besides starting explanations _in media res_ was a literary device that worked in some situations and not in others. I could give them enough trust to know how best to share about themselves and that they would do the same for me. "Sure."

"Thank you."

"Wait," Emily interrupted her husband. I looked over and saw Emily licking her lips.

"Em—"

"It's alright, Sam. I just need to say this. Bella, Sam didn't mean to hurt Leah, and neither did I. When it started, I didn't know what was going on or what any of it meant. I know that you're her friend, and I'll—we'll—respect that, but please, listen to the other side of the story and at least try to give me a chance. I know that it might be asking a lot of you, to be put in the middle, but…"

I was taken aback to see the deep emotion in Emily's eyes and on her face. "I can do that," I said softly. "I promised myself last night and this morning that I would give this a real chance and hear both sides. I guess that on the drive over here I lost my confidence a little bit. I probably didn't ask that question in the best way, and I'm sorry for that. I know that I don't know the whole story, and I'm usually a really fair person who thinks the best of people. I'll listen."

Sam leaned over to give his wife a kiss. "Thank you, Bella," he said again. Alright. I know you saw some stuff last night that was a bit...well, out of the ordinary. How are you feeling about that?"

"I guess I've always been good with weird stuff, so I feel fine," I shrugged. "It probably helped that I'd been thinking about things right before that happened and had basically figured a lot of it out on my own." Half a dozen dumbfounded expressions faced me.

"What?"

"Figured it out? You just 'figured it out'?"

"How the hell?"

The exclamations burst out in a jumble.

"I'm a cop's daughter. Is it really that surprising that I happen to be perceptive?"

"A few hundred years ago, people would call that witchcraft."

"Well, we're not living a few hundred years ago, now are we? Lucky me."

"Alright," Sam took charge. "We've been dancing around this, but after last night, you have to know that we're wolves."

I nodded. "How?"

"None of us got bitten, and we don't turn into slavering monsters at the full moon," Jared added.

"It's a genetic inheritance given to males in this tribe who are descended from an ancient chief-but only if we're around the right age when the trigger is present."

"Trigger?"

"It's right there in the stories we know Jacob told you: vampires."

Everyone seemed to be watching me and my reaction. I was trying to wrap my mind around it. Even with all the thinking I'd done yesterday, I hadn't quite gotten the equation right. Sam was right that the stories I'd heard had mentioned both wolves and Cold Ones-which I knew meant vampires-but somehow Jacob hadn't conveyed that it was a cause/effect relationship. Nothing that Edward had ever said had suggested that the Cullen's were aware of any connection either. All he'd said was that they'd made a treaty with the pack of wolves, and then left after a few years, not coming back until long after the wolves were gone. Something else struck me then: they were talking about it being a tribal thing, but Embry... My eyes flashed to his, and I saw my boyfriend's face tense up.

"Yeah," he spoke with a tight voice, "it means my dad has to have been a member of this tribe-otherwise I wouldn't have become part of this."

"And you wish you hadn't," I stated.

"I don't know."

I felt an ache in my chest and followed the impulse to leave my seat and move to Embry's lap. "I said it last night and I'll say it again: you are who you have always been. That's who I fell in love with." Ignoring our audience, I placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," he whispered, resting his forehead against mine for a moment, before dropping his head to the crook of my neck. I just hugged him for as long as he needed me to.

"We'll do everything we can to get you that answer, Embry," Sam promised. "You deserve to know. Hopefully your mom will realize that soon and tell you."

"Yeah," Embry sighed heavily.

I thought about asking what was going on with Tiffany, but I decided against it. Embry didn't sound like he wanted to keep talking about this right now. So I brought the conversation back to the point of deviation. "So you become wolves if vampires are nearby. To protect the tribe, isn't that what the stories said?"

"That's right." Sam went on to explain the changes they went through before, during, and after 'the phase', as he called it. I didn't mind the thought that I'd be seeing a lot more of Embry's body now, as the cut-off shorts seemed to be the semi-official pack uniform.

"Good thing I like to cook isn't it?" I offered the teasing comment.

"It helps," Paul agreed.

"Did I say I'd be feeding you?" I retorted. He offered a puppy dog look of pleading. "We'll see. Embry gets first dibs. What else do I need to know?"

"We patrol around the reservation and peninsula, looking for bloodsuckers that might be a threat to anyone," Jared said. "Sam, when do you want to put Embry on the schedule?"

"You _are_ the one in charge?" I sought the confirmation.

Sam nodded. "I'm the Alpha. Jared here is Beta, my second-in-command. From there, the hierarchy isn't strictly laid out, but I guess you could say it's in terms of seniority, of how long they've been in the pack. So, yes, I'm in charge and give the orders when they're needed. Let me think on the schedule for a bit, Jared. It'll have to be reworked now. Embry, I'll let you know sometime today, and we'll have you start up tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay. Guess you're the boss," Embry shrugged.

Sam reached over and took hold of his wife's hand. "Bella, you asked earlier about Leah, and just now asked about anything else that you needed to know. The two are related. When I referred to Emily as my wife, and to Kim as Jared's fiancée earlier, both were true, but they don't explain everything about their connection to us. The tie between us isn't just legal or emotional, it's supernatural as well. Perhaps in compensation for what we sacrifice when we phase, the gods or spirits give us a blessing in return. Emily is my mate, my imprint, and Kim is Jared's."

"I'm guessing that probably doesn't have anything to do with baby animals, right?"

There were some muffled chuckles.

"No, it doesn't. An imprint...is the woman who completes us, the other half of our soul. She can calm us, center us, and support us. The imprints are entitled to know everything that is going on, so that they are aware and can do those things for us. It only happens after we phase—the first time we meet her eyes. There were legends about it, things the tribal elders told me after I phased. But it was thought to be rare, and I loved Leah, so I didn't listen when they said I should break things off." He sighed heavily. "I didn't listen, and Leah paid the price for it. There was a gathering, one for all the tribes on the peninsula, a little while after that. Emily came down with a group from the Makah Reservation. Just one look…and no one else existed for me. Emily was the only one I saw from that instant on. I broke it off with Leah immediately, but she never understood. She isn't part of this, so she won't ever know. Part of me wishes she could, so she'd have closure, but since that won't happen her anger is the least I deserve."

The shoe dropped. That moment last night. Why I was being told all of this now. "And I'm Embry's? Is that what happened last night? That connection?"

"Yes. The moment your eyes met, he imprinted."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that he'll always be there for you, however you need him. A friend, lover, whatever."

I met Embry's gaze. His dark eyes were serious, a little uncertain. "Honestly...I don't want you as just a friend. I mean, I want us to still be friends like we have been. But I don't want that to be the end of it, not anymore. Besides, I think we've got the other covered already."

Paul snorted, "Yeah, we know."

My head spun around.

"You admitted it yesterday, remember? Embry confirmed it, too," he reminded me.

"And you and Quil smelled…"

"Yeah. Enhanced senses. Helpful sometimes, but a pain at other times. Quil didn't mean to stick his foot in it; just a distraction attempt that went bad."

"Is that what Jacob was trying to do yesterday afternoon? That staring match?"

"Didn't happen. That's part of what made him so pissed off," Paul said.

"Tell her the rest of it," Kim suggested, entering this conversation for the first time.

Embry looked at me with a look of panicked pleading. "Please don't hate me, please don't hate me."

"Why would I do something like that?"

"I—"

"When we're in wolf form," Sam cut in, "we obviously can't talk to share information. So part of the…I guess 'magic' is probably the best word…that bonds us as a pack has given us a different way to do that communication. Instead of using words, we have a mental connection to every other pack member who is phased at that moment. Things we need to know are shared as thoughts and images."

I had the feeling I should probably be able to figure out what he meant, but I couldn't quite bridge the gap.

"They don't do it to embarrass us, or for a cheap thrill—they don't like it much, either," Emily stated firmly. "It's something that no one can help and we just have to deal with. They try to keep as much under wraps as they can, and then just don't talk about anything that happens to slip through."

"It's a living example of how when you try not to think about something, it just brings it front and center in your mind," noted Jared.

Forget a shoe-drop. The entire floor fell away. "They saw…?" I whispered, utterly embarrassed.

Embry nodded miserably. "Not everything, but…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Jacob saw?"

"No!" Embry denied emphatically.

"I had Jacob phase back as soon as I could yesterday afternoon after Embry phased, so all Jacob knows is what he heard at your house," said Sam. "Later that night—"

"—he was too busy cussing Embry out for being at your place for anything to leak or be seen," Paul added.

"But that won't last forever. Jacob and Embry _will_ eventually be phased at the same time again, and sooner rather than later, unfortunately," Sam sighed. "So, he will see at some point."

Paul had a thoughtful look on his face. "Hey, Sam?"

"What?"

"You know how you told me to keep any bombshells about Embry and Bella to myself a while back? And how I didn't say anything about seeing them together in Forks or any of it?" Paul asked.

"I remember, Paul. But I don't like to use Alpha-orders on you if it isn't necessary."

"It's necessary," Jared and Paul spoke in unison. "Unless you want World War III breaking out in the pack the first time Jacob sees something in Embry's thoughts," continued Jared.

"Try it," Kim requested.

"Worth a shot," I agreed. "Honestly, I don't really want anybody seeing anything so private about me-" Embry shrunk down. "-but I guess we'll deal with it."

"Alright. After we're done here, we can give it a shot. I think we've covered the most immediately needed pack information now, anyway. Bella, if you have any questions once you've had a chance to process everything, we'll answer them. We can get you everyone's phone numbers before you leave. But, there are some things we need to know from you, too."

I nodded. I'd known this moment was coming, and now it was here. I carefully got off Embry's lap and went to refill my glass of water. My mind raced through the same kinds of crazy conversation starters that I'd considered, and rejected, yesterday. Since I didn't have a clue how to begin, maybe I'd let them do it for me. I sat back down in my chair and waited.

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Embry POV

"How did you get involved with the Cullen's to begin with?" I asked. Unlike Bella, I decided not to dive right into the hard stuff. I really wanted to know what all that stuff in the meadow was about, but after everything we'd just gone through, there was something to be said for easing into the really difficult things this time.

"At school. Edward was my biology partner, and he kept swinging from ignoring me one day, to being all interested the next…it gave me whiplash. And I started noticing that things didn't make sense: his eyes changed colors, he and his siblings were never around on sunny days, they never seemed to eat the cafeteria food, how he saved me from being crushed by Tyler's van in the school parking lot—even though he'd been clear on the other side of the lot just seconds earlier…I guess I just got too curious and too determined to figure it all out. By the time I knew enough to realize I ought to be scared, I'd convinced myself that it didn't matter. That they were different and better than the stereotypes and that everything would be fine."

It felt like a solid punch to my gut, hearing that Bella had nearly been killed before I ever had the chance to meet her.

"But you weren't fine."

"No, I wasn't. But I didn't see that then. I didn't realize how—well, how drugged I was until after he—they—left me."

"You mean that it was their fault you got sick?"

"Not exactly. It was my fault that I tried to follow him into the forest and got lost. But he said once that everything about them drew people in, and with as much time as I spent with them...it kind of was like an addiction, I guess. Maybe either the exposure or the vampire-detox alone would have been bad enough, but both together..."

Her hands twisted in her lap in obvious anxiety. My hand automatically reached out to cover hers in support.

"Thanks," Bella whispered. I shifted our hands so that I could hold hers more comfortably. It rotated her arm enough that the inside of her wrist now faced upward. My glance downward…an icy hand reached into my chest and squeezed my heart hard.

"Fuck! What the fuck is that, Bella?" One finger traced the outline of a bite embedded in her skin. Why the hell hadn't I seen this for what it was before now? "Who did this, Bella?"

The rest of my new pack was on their feet, easily able to see over the table to the wrist I was still cradling. Low growls emanated from all of them, but I didn't think that was why Bella's heart rate had suddenly gone into overdrive. I shifted and pulled her onto my lap again, letting her bury her head against my chest and letting my own face drop to rest on the top of her head. Gradually, her pulse and breathing evened out.

"It was James," Bella whispered. "He…bit me. But then Edward was there and—and he saved me. Sucked the venom out."

A violent tremor racked my body and I clutched Bella tight, trying to protect her from another danger I'd known nothing about. I had to be momentarily grateful to Edward Cullen for saving Bella's life, but only for a moment. Then I was just pissed off that he'd dragged her into that dangerous mess to begin with, and then had left her behind in it, too.

"You okay, bro?" Paul asked, a hand coming down on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I got this. Who was James?" I asked Bella.

"Edward took me to watch his family play baseball one day. This group of three vampires was traveling through the area right then, heard the sounds of the game, and came to see what was going on. Laurent pretended to be the leader of the group, but it was really the other guy, James. James...thought that hunting a human who was being protected by seven vampires was the best game around-at least, that's what Laurent warned the Cullen's about later that night. I staged a fight with my dad, and left. Alice and Jasper took me to Phoenix to try and get away from him, but James found me anyway—Victoria broke into the school and found my old records. He broke my leg and the Cullen's killed him."

"And the others in that coven? Laurent and that Victoria?"

"Laurent said he didn't want to play James' games, so after he gave the warning he headed to Alaska, to join some friends of the Cullen's'-at least, that's what he said he was going to do, but I guess he didn't stay long. Victoria had left the area after doing her spy job, and I didn't hear anything else about her."

"Does she have red hair?" Sam asked. Bella flinched.

"Yes," she answered in a very soft voice. "Long curly red hair. How do you know that?" her voice wavered this time.

"She's come around a few times this summer. Both alone and with that one we killed yesterday," Paul said. "We never had a clue about why she kept coming back. Until yesterday, that is."

"I don't believe it," Bella shook her head. "I don't understand why she would think Edward would care what happens to me now. He left me, so how could she hurt him by coming after me?"

"James _was_ her mate!" Jared exclaimed suddenly. Everyone stared at him in confusion. "I'd kill anyone who threatened Kim. Sam, Embry, neither of you would be any different where Emily and Bella are concerned. Remember the story? Taha Aki and the Cold Woman? That Laurent must've been telling the truth yesterday. If the Cullen's killed her mate, she'd want revenge. How better to get it than to claim a mate for a mate? Especially when the other mate is the reason that hers was killed?"

"Shit!" Paul yelled. I might've done the same, if my throat hadn't been sealed shut.

"Settle down," Sam ordered, in a tone that left no option for debate. "Now we know what she wants. We dealt with her friend, and we'll deal with her, too. No one is going to panic. Killing vampires is what we exist to do, and she will be no different. Bella, do you know anything else about her?"

"No. Just what I said earlier."

"What about the Cullen's? Anything about them that could help us deal with Victoria?"

Bella shifted on my lap and regarded her hands silently for a minute. Then she looked up and at Sam. "Some of them had…gifts."

"Gifts?"

"Carlisle was compassionate—that's how he was able to become a doctor. Rosalie was beautiful, Emmett was strong. Alice could see the future from the decisions people made. Jasper could sense emotions and influence them, too. And Edward could read minds, anyone's mind—except mine."

"Maybe she has one, too—Victoria. Maybe it's escaping. She got away from the Cullen's, she keeps evading us…Might be that she's got some talent for knowing when to get the hell out of Dodge."

"Even the best outlaws got caught eventually. So will she," judged Sam. "Bella, thank you for telling us about everything. I can guess that remembering it all wasn't pleasant."

"It didn't really hurt—not like it would have before. Maybe I feel a little guilty about sharing their secrets—but I didn't exactly promise not to, and they left me…I don't owe them anything. It might help you, and it isn't like they're around to know."

"Thank you just the same. Okay, if there's nothing else, then I think we're done for today. Paul, I need you to spread the word to the council members about a meeting tonight, and then take over on patrol. Emily, can you start planning for a bonfire? We haven't had one lately, and with the new members and all, we need one. Jared, I'll meet you at work after you see Kim home."

With nods of agreement all around, the meeting broke up. When it was just me and Bella, and Sam and Emily left, Sam gazed at me. "I can't guarantee that this will work, but like Bella said, it's worth a try. If it doesn't work, well...block and run. And just so you know, Jake's probably the fastest in the pack now. Alright. Embry, I am giving you an Alpha order not to think about your intimate times with Bella when you're phased."

I didn't feel any different, but had no way of knowing if I was supposed to or not.

"We'll give it a test once you phase for your first patrol."

"Thanks, Sam." I helped Bella stand up, and quickly pulled her toward the door of the cabin.

"Just a second," Emily called after us. She moved forward and extended a sheet of paper. "Here's everyone's phone numbers. Bella, send us texts or calls so we can get your number—or just tell me now, if you want, and I can share it around." Bella recited her phone number for Emily and we departed.

"What do you want to do?"

"How about a walk on the beach? We haven't done that in a while," Bella said.

"Sure." There'd be plenty of time for that, as well as other things, before my mom would get home from work. We got into Bella's car and headed for the beach.

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Jacob POV

Dad had come home from the council meeting in a really bad mood, and wouldn't tell me why. He didn't even ask me what had happened-not that I could have told him even if I'd wanted to...which I didn't. We just both went to our rooms for the rest of the night. I was right in the middle of a dream of "the way things should have been", when I was abruptly woken up-by Sam Uley, no less.

"Jacob, get up."

"G'way," my mumble was muffled by my pillow.

"Not happening. You need to get up and take over patrolling from Jared."

"What?"

"Jared's been patrolling since three. You need to go relieve him-I've got business for him this morning."

"That's not fair-I have to miss breakfast?"

"You're lucky to not be missing anything else right now. That crap you pulled yesterday...I'm having a really hard time remembering that you're only seventeen and a brand-new wolf. Get going. You and I will be having a discussion later about what you did and what will be happening."

Grumbling, I did as ordered, scarfing down a few granola bars and chugging a bottle of water on my way. Jared didn't say anything when I phased in, other than that everything had been quiet during his shift. I pounded through the forest on the circuit, doing my best to lose myself in the monotony of my footfalls and the quiet of the forest. I didn't want to think. Yet, I couldn't seem to do anything else.

When I'd been a kid, my mom had read me the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day" over and over again. I'd found it funny at the time, all the bad stuff that happened to the kid. I didn't think it was funny at all now-not when I was the kid. The past few weeks had been one nightmare after another for me. Growing like a giant, phasing, being separated from my best friend and the girl of my dreams, the hope and expectation of imprinting on Bella and us being together the rest of our lives, the betrayal of having my best friend go after my girl, and then not imprinting on Bella...

I'd raged inside at Sam's orders to me last night, and how powerless I'd been to fight a single one of them. I'd only just managed the run-around on the orders and phased-which was pretty much the only thing Sam _hadn't_ forbidden me to do-only to have Embry in my head and Bella in his eyes. That had pissed me off even more-how by everything that was holy was he at her house? I'd done the right thing and stayed away during the early days when I'd had no control, but Embry didn't think he had to do the same? I'd felt malicious glee thinking of the smack down that Sam would give him for that-only to have Paul shoot back that Sam knew just where Embry was and hadn't forbidden it.

So some twisted thing deep inside me reached out with what I knew would hurt Embry the most and unleashed those words at him. I'm not sure what I had hoped would happen, but Embry didn't mirror what I'd done only a few hours earlier and come after me-maybe that's what I'd been after, to get him away from Bella-but he didn't react other than to phase back. Jared and Paul both made sure they were looking somewhere else so that I couldn't see anything, before they phased back human, too. And so had I, before I got caught by anyone else-but I figured someone had snitched on me to Sam about it, and that it was part of what we'd be "discussing" soon.

_Hey, Jake,_ Quil's voice popped into my head.

_What are you doing here?_

_Sam asked me to come out and run with you-that way you're not out here solo in case that female decides to come find her "friend"._

_I hope she does,_ my was savage thought. _At least I could tear into her without getting yelled at._

_You really __**were**__ trying to kill Embry yesterday? Jake, why? He's our friend._

_He __**was**__._

_But he's part of the pack now, so we don't have to avoid him like before._

_He took Bella away._

I could feel Quil trying to keep quiet, but it didn't last—it never did. _I think you did that yourself, Jake. I'm not saying that Sam's orders didn't contribute, but there was a lot that you could have handled better than you did._

_Like...?_

_You were seeing red pretty much anytime you talked to Bella. Nobody likes it when someone else gets in their face, and..._

_And?_

_Well, hasn't she kept saying that she didn't think you had the right to be mad at her? Hold on a sec-_ he rushed on -_If you'd been furious about __**why**__ she was pissed off at you, then that would have been one thing, but you were telling her she didn't have any reason to be angry at all. And let's face it, she __**did **__have a reason. She got abandoned by someone else in her life, and then when you were able to even try explaining, you just seemed to expect that she'd forgive you automatically. She didn't-doesn't-know what we know, so she wasn't working from the same place that you were._

I didn't really like it, but what Quil was saying finally started sinking in. _So if I'd let her get everything out, and __**then**__ started to explain the reasons why...?_

_She probably wouldn't have been so mad at you. It wouldn't have changed anything, though. You still wouldn't have imprinted on her._

_Then why was everyone so sure that I __**would**__? What about all this "future imprint" instinct?_

_I_-Quil choked off.

_What? Damn it, Quil! Quil?_

The other wolf seemed like he was choking, a feeling of helpless apology coming through the mind-link.

Quil didn't have to say anything for me to figure out what this meant: he literally _couldn't_ say anything. And that meant…

_**Sam!**_

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AN: I did a major rewrite of the Bella/vampire section just before posting, so if something doesn't make sense, please let me know.


	40. Clearing the Air

Guest: Welcome to the story. I'm glad you found it. I hope you continue to enjoy things as they unfold here. I update as often as I can.

Jana: I'm happy you enjoyed the chapter and it's ending. I try not to be mean with cliffies, but #39 was already really long and ready to post. Thank you for all the compliments.

Congrats to Khyharah for being review #975 on FF, and to WhackedB for giving review #1000. Wow. This is amazing. I am humbled, and thankful for everyone's interest in this story.

AN: Just an FYI to readers since I had several comments on this after the last chapter: I have changed the Sam/Emily back story from the canon version of the books. In this story, Emily is **NOT** Leah's cousin. Emily was a complete stranger to La Push and the tribe before attending a peninsula multi-tribe gathering where Sam saw her and imprinted. As Sue Clearwater reflected back in chapter 28, Emily had a rough life growing up in Neah Bay and jumped headlong into a relationship with Sam because it promised to be better than the life she'd had before. So there was no betrayal by a best friend or cousin; Leah was dumped for a complete stranger (she did comment to Bella that she wondered if Sam might have known Emily somehow without her knowing about it, but Sam is innocent of that allegation). Hope this clears up any confusion.

I would say I'm sorry this took so long…but I won't. I wish this update could have been faster, but my entire month has been crazy and writing just didn't want to happen. But good things come to those who wait, and this is a very long good thing for you to enjoy. Would love to hear what you think. I hope this came out alright. Jake gave me some fits again (or this would have posted earlier this week), and Embry and Bella may have gotten a little carried away here.

Happy Thanksgiving (a few days late) to my fellow Americans.

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Sam POV

I watched the last member of my pack disappear from view and glanced over at my wife.

"Interesting morning," Emily observed.

"Which part?" my lips quirked. 'Interesting' was probably an understatement.

"All of it, I suppose. I think she'll fit in nicely with everyone-well, everyone _else_-and hopefully Jacob will come around eventually."

"Spirits, please," my eyes lifted briefly toward the sky in appeal. I could only hope that Emily was right, even though I feared that she wouldn't be. Nothing I'd seen so far gave me any reason to think that Jacob would take anything new in any way other than badly.

"Sam, I know you'll do the best you can for everyone. It took Jacob a few days to adjust to all of the wolf stuff, so he probably will need that kind of time to accept these new realities."

"Except he doesn't know about all of them yet, not about the imprint." And when he did...

"Then he'll have to _be_ told, and soon. Should Paul have him come here after he gets off patrol? Should we talk to him about everything before you go to work?"

With a sigh, I considered the idea. If I did this now, who knew when I'd actually make it in to work today? Nothing with Jacob Black was ever fast or easy. But if I put it off...Emily was right: Jacob would hear about Embry's imprint sooner or later-probably sooner, given that I hadn't put Paul under the same specific gag order that I had done with Quil. Considering Jacob's past reactions to news he didn't like...I didn't want to think about what this revelation would do. And I was Alpha-avoiding something just because I didn't want to deal with it wasn't an option. "Yeah, I probably ought to. No sense putting it off, and it would just backfire on me like pretty much everything else has where he's concerned. I'll go phase in now and have him come here. Quil can handle things solo for the few more minutes it will take until Paul comes on duty."

Emily nodded. "Will Paul remember that Tiffany Call ought to be invited to the council meeting, or should I call her about it?"

"I have no idea. Probably best to call her just to make sure."

I headed outside to phase while Emily took care of the phone call. It was just a simple answering machine message to both members of the Call family giving the time and place for the council meeting and a request for their attendance.

_Anything to report?_ I asked my wolves once I'd phased in.

_What is going on?_ Jacob snarled. _What isn't Quil telling me? Why is my best friend under a gag order-your gag order?_

With effort, I grabbed hold of my irritation and strangled it. _I had my reasons-reasons which you didn't need to know about until now, Jacob. But I will be discussing them with you once you get here. We need to clear the air about several things. Head this way now. Quil, Paul will be phasing in soon to take over from you. There's going to be another council meeting tonight, and your grandfather will likely need your help getting things ready, so head home once Paul comes on duty._

I could tell that Jacob was already making for my house, so I phased back human after getting Quil's agreement to my directions.

"He's coming," I informed Emily once I was back inside.

"Good. I called Tiffany's and Embry's cell numbers as well as their house, and left messages with each." My imprint moved smoothly around the kitchen, pulling together a simple but filling breakfast for our problem wolf. She caught the look on my face and delivered one of her own. "He's going to be hungry anyway after all that running, and if I address one of his issues, then maybe handling the rest of it will go a little smoother."

"Let's find out," I said, hearing Jacob's footfalls outside. "Come on in, Jacob," I called.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jacob POV

_Sam!_ I screamed his name in anger. Then, as if I'd summoned him, our Alpha joined Quil and me in the pack mind.

_Anything to report?_ He asked.

_What is going on?_ I snarled. _What isn't Quil telling me? Why is my best friend under a gag order-your gag order?_

There was a quick sense of irritation that was quickly buried. _I had my reasons-reasons which you didn't need to know about until now, Jacob. But I will be discussing them with you once you get here. We need to clear the air about several things. Head this way now. Quil, Paul will be phasing in soon to take over from you. There's going to be another council meeting tonight, and your grandfather will likely need your help getting things ready, so head home once Paul comes on duty._

_Okay, Sam,_ Quil said, and kept running the circuit. I, on the other hand, cut away to make for Sam's house. Without another word spoken, Sam was gone.

_Jake, don't do anything stupid! _Quil begged.

I ignored my friend, though. An icy burn of awakening knowledge flowed through my veins. Sam had known Embry was at Bella's house and hadn't forbidden it. If everyone was so sure that Bella would be an imprint, and it hadn't been any of the five of us...then it had to be a different wolf, and Embry was the only other one._  
><em>

_She's his imprint?_ I raged. Adrenalin raced through my body and I put on speed heading back as fast as I could. Sam seemed to have all the answers these days, or at least thought he did, and I was damn well going to get some, especially if he was now willing to talk._  
><em>

_Jake!_ Quil called after me. I left him in my dust and was at Sam's place in no time.

"Sam!"

"Emily made breakfast for you, Jake. Go ahead and fill up a plate." Sam totally ignored my anger. It reminded me of how my mom had handled it when my sisters and I had acted up. His words about the food hadn't been an order, so I could have ignored them on principle, but the food just smelled too damn good to even think about resisting. Plus, I wasn't so much of an ass that I would throw Emily's efforts back in her face-she hadn't had to pull together two breakfast spreads in one morning.

"Orange juice or milk?" Emily asked me.

"Juice-please," I added at Sam's look.

Alpha Sam filled up his own plate after me and sat down on the other side of the table. Now that I was paying attention, I could tell that it hadn't just been the rest of the pack here earlier-Embry and Bella had been here, too.

"Is _this_ why you made me patrol this morning? Because _they_ were coming?"

Sam's poker face was fully in evidence. "You will stay right there and listen to everything I need to tell you. You will stay calm, stay human, and not threaten my imprint or my home, or anyone else. Your butt will not leave the chair until I am done-unless there is an emergency or a threat to be dealt with."Sam had clearly learned from last night and closed any loopholes in his orders. Part of me wanted to fight the orders on principle, but a bigger part wanted answers. So I settled into my chair with an exaggerated motion.

"First of all, Jacob, I'm not happy with how you handled yourself last night. However angry you were, and no matter how justified you considered yourself to be, you used the gift of your spirit wolf to try and attack a human. That is the action of a son of Utlapa, not a son of Taha Aki. The tribal elders are aware of your action, and punishment will be issued. It was only the blessing of his own spirit wolf that enabled Embry Call to meet your threat without serious or lasting injury."

"Secondly, while you did keep the letter of my orders to you after that attack, you violated the spirit of them. While it is true that I did not explicitly forbid you to phase into your wolf form, you were fully aware that Embry was still phased and likely to remain so for some time. For you to enter the pack mind again that night was not a good decision to make. Even less wise were the words you flung at Embry. I _know_ that you were raised better than to insult a woman the way you did Tiffany Call last night. You would never want someone else speaking of your mother that way, would you?" Sam's words hammered into me just like his eyes drilled into mine. He waited for an answer, and I had to shake my head. Hell, no-I'd go after anyone who said stuff like that about Mom.

"You owe your present good health to Bella Swan. If she hadn't been right there with Embry, he likely would have made a beeline for you and pounded you into the ground—and you would have deserved it. Count yourself lucky that he just used your ranting as motivation to phase back human so fast and easy. And to back up what Paul told you: yes, I did know that Embry was heading to see Bella, and I allowed it just like I'd allowed you a few hours earlier."

"For a third thing, I don't appreciate your implication that I allowed that meeting out of favoritism. That's not how I run this pack, and I don't care for the insult. If it does turn out that Embry is my brother, then I'll welcome him gladly. Just as I'll expect anyone else to do if it ends up that they share that bond with him. The truth _will_ come out—there's no logical reason why Tiffany would be so determined to keep Embry's paternity a secret if she doesn't know exactly who the man was. And I want you to think about that for just a minute, Jacob. Embry phased as a half-Quileute. I believe that Jared is right in what he said last night: this probably happened because Embry's connection to Taha Aki's line is a strong one—very likely because he's tied to the last wolf-pack in this tribe. That means that any of our fathers, plus a few other important men in the tribe, are the only reasonable candidates. So, if it isn't my dad or a brother of Harry or Sue Clearwater, then the man has been here the whole time and watched his son grow up without being claimed. Paul's dad has already sworn it wasn't him, but only time will tell about the others. How do you think your friend will feel when he finds out who it was? How would _you_ feel?"

Sam fell silent and allowed me to do that thinking. I didn't have to imagine how either Embry or I would feel; I knew: anger, hurt, and rejection. It was like how I'd felt when Mom died. Even though I'd later come to understand that her injuries had simply been too severe for any human to survive, the child I'd been at the time had for a while blamed her for dying, for not loving me and my dad and sisters enough to keep fighting to live. But if she hadn't died—had just left us? If Dad had kept us away from her? Made up stories about her? Against my will, I began to feel shame and regret for the things I'd said.

"You asked me if I put you on patrol this morning because Bella and Embry were coming here. Yes, it is the reason. You attacked Embry in his backyard yesterday and nearly phased in Bella's living room right before that. I wasn't about to have you anywhere near them this morning," Sam paused and made eye contact with me. "I won't keep doing that, though. I can't, and wouldn't even if I could. We are a pack of six wolves, and we _have_ to be able to get along and work together. Whether you like it or not-and I get that you _don't_ like it-you are going to have to accept how things are now, just like you did when you phased, when your sisters left, when your mom died..."

"And what do I _have_ to accept now?"

"Embry is part of this pack. I will not have my wolves fighting one another instead of our enemies. I don't want to have to keep laying Alpha orders on you, Jacob—but if that's the only thing that will keep the peace around here, I _will_ do it. Doing and saying the things you have recently…_cannot_ keep happening. Embry can no more help having an absent father than I can, or Quil. I would like for you to remember that you're almost an adult, and that you and Embry have been friends for most of your lives. You used to be a mature, responsible, and good person; be that person again."

"He took Bella away—"

"She was never yours to lose, Jacob. Bella is not your imprint. Nor was she your girlfriend."

"Then whose imprint is she? You said she'd be part of this."

"Embry imprinted on Bella last night." The statement was flat and unemotional. Even though I'd more than half expected this from everything that had happened, to hear the words...fierce and bitter jealousy gripped my chest.

"Why? Why him? Why not me?"

"Why didn't I imprint on Leah? Why did our great-grandfathers make a treaty with the Cullens instead of fighting them? I don't know, Jake. I wish I had the answers to everything, but I don't. "

"Too bad you didn't figure that out back at the beginning of all this!"

"And I'll have to live with that, Jacob. If I could go back and change that first night's conversation between us, I'd do it. I deeply regret that I spoke without thinking and gave you that hope that wasn't meant to be."

"So, what? I'm just supposed to be happy for them now?"

"That would be the right and mature thing to do, Jake. This imprinting is a fact. Jared was there and witnessed it, as did Paul." Sam snorted. "I said earlier that I allowed Embry to see Bella…rather, I didn't waste my breath trying to forbid something that couldn't be stopped. He caught her scent in the meadow and was heading for her place like there was a homing beacon calling him there. Nothing else registered for him, not Paul and Jared, not even me when I phased in. And she somehow knew he was there. Went right to him without being afraid. Calmed him down and got him human again. Yes, Jake, it would be really nice for both Embry and for Bella if you can be accepting of this and even be happy for them. I haven't stopped caring about Leah, even though I don't have the right to after I broke her heart by imprinting. But I can be happy that she's getting the chance now to pursue her dreams, even though I'm not part of it anymore. Bella is still your friend, and I would hope that you could be pleased that she's found someone who will never break her heart the way that Cullen leech did, that she will always be cared for to the fullest extent that Embry can offer."

Finally, Sam stopped talking and began eating his food. Mechanically, I followed suit. While my body went through the motions of eating automatically, my mind played back Quil's and Sam's words to me on an endless loop.

"The food was delicious, as always, Em," Sam said when he was done. "I've got to get to work now. If the weather looks good for Friday night, we'll have the bonfire then. Check the forecast, okay? I'll try to come home before the council meeting, but if not I'll meet you there, alright? Jared will be patrolling, but Kim can come if she's up to it. Shoot! Can you call or text Bella and let her know? I'm not sure if Embry will think to bring her along; he probably will, with the imprint being so new, but let her know directly, would you?"

"I will, Sam. Yes, Sam. I'll tell Kim—and Bella, as well. Have a good day at work." Emily kissed Sam and watched him walk toward the door. He stopped just before the doorway and turned back to me.

"Jake, I'm encouraging you to find someplace where you can be alone today and do some thinking. My order about keeping your distance from Embry and Bella still stands for today. You're expected to attend the meeting tonight, and I expect better behavior from you than you've demonstrated recently."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Paul POV

With the council members now notified about yet another meeting, I headed outside for the next thing on my list of Alpha-directed tasks: taking over the patrol shift from Quil. Still shaking my head at the morning's events and revelations, I shed my clothes and phased.

_Hey_, Quil greeted me. _How'd it go?_

_She is something, I'll say that._

_Did she freak out any with all the bombshells?_

I laughed. _Nope. Not at all, really._

_Not over anything? Imprinting? Any of it?_

_Nope._

_Man, _Quil groaned, _it's not fair. Why did Embry get to hit the imprint lottery? She cooks, she's hot, __**and**__ she's okay with everything? Not fair, not fair._

_That's life, kid. But it seems to me that with all this shit, Embry deserves to have something great like an incredible imprint. Make up for it all a little._

_Yeah, _admitted Quil. _He does. So what happened?_

I thought back over everything said and done at the meeting to fill Quil in on what he'd missed this morning. He had to snort at how well Bella had handled my risque teasing about the bananas. I had to admit, I hadn't predicted she would volley back a comment like that one-and I was willing to bet Embry hadn't expected it, either. But I'd lay money on him taking her up on the idea _really_ soon.

_She cooks, is hot, fine with everything, __**and**__ she can stand her own against you? __**Not fair**__!_

_That's the breaks sometimes, kid._

_Uh-huh._

_Anything happen on patrol?_

_Nothing to report there. It's a good thing Sam took his precautions, though. I'd've spilled everything if he hadn't._

_That kid just doesn't know when to let something go, does he?_ It wasn't really a question.

_Jake's the dictionary picture for 'stubborn' or 'hard-headed', _Quil agreed, knowing his best friend better than anyone else. He shut up for a few minutes, thinking back over everything I'd shared. _Hey, Paul, you believe that stuff about the Cullens having those superpower gifts?_

_I'm not sure. Bella at least believes it, and she did spend a lot of time around them. Okay, so maybe they could fake it in front of the human, but...I guess I can believe it._

_Mind-reading? Mood control? Sounds kinda crazy._

_**We**__ do the mind-reading thing, too, you know. At least when we're wolves._

_And if we can, then why not them? Guess it makes sense._

_Exactly. I wonder what kind of limits he had? Range? Number of minds at one time?_

_**I**__ wonder what was going on in Bella's mind that he couldn't read hers._

_Probably another thing on your "not fair" list, Quil._

_Yeah. Okay, well I'm off then. Gotta go help Grandpa get ready for the meeting tonight. Any bets on how bad this is gonna be?_

I snorted. _Hell, no. I'm not that stupid. Anyone who thinks this won't be anything other than a Class-One, Grade-A, utter and complete shit-storm of a catastrophe is plain crazy._

Quil didn't answer, but his mind reflected back the belief that I was probably going to be right about this, too.

_See ya,_ he said, and then I was alone in the pack mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella POV

It almost seemed by unspoken consent that we didn't say anything during the short drive to the beach. Embry pulled me up against his side as we started walking, even though he really had to work at it now to not go faster than my shorter legs could handle.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," I confessed to Embry. "I knew I needed to say something about what I-we-went through yesterday, and about the Cullens, but I couldn't think of how to even start, and so I didn't..."

"Bella, even if you had tried, I don't know if I could have believed you. It really is all stuff that you pretty much have to see to believe. And I get that you didn't want your boyfriend to think you'd gone off the deep end."

"You still want to be my boyfriend, huh?"

He chuckled and stopped so that he could pull me into a hug. "Always have, always will. Honestly, I probably had my eye on you from day one-it just took me a long time to get up the nerve to do anything about it. Not too long ago, I told you that you were the only woman I see 'this way'-and the only one I ever want to. This imprint thing...just made sure that's the way it will be."

I stood pressed against Embry, and took stock of everything that had changed in less than 24 hours. He was definitely taller than before, and really built, too. And then there was the heat radiating off his skin. It would absolutely come in handy once winter arrived, and fortunately for me, what passed as a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest was nothing compared to Phoenix temperatures in mid-summer, so I didn't have to worry about heatstroke. As for the rest of it... Part of me really didn't like the supernatural intruding into our relationship like this-it smacked a little too much of the so-called "mates" the vampires had, which was pretty freaky after yesterday's near-death experience-but was it really the same? Embry didn't seem to think so. Like he'd just said, we'd fallen in love with each other before this imprint-thing had happened, so how we felt wasn't forced by anything mystical. All the same, the idea that nothing could split us up...I'd be lying to myself if I tried to pretend that I didn't like that aspect of all this. To know that it would be like this for the rest of our lives...that security felt like the warmest and softest of blankets.

"Always," I mused. "I like the sound of that-with you."

Apparently Embry _really_ liked hearing me say that, because in a blinding whirl I was up in his arm and being thoroughly kissed. My arms and legs automatically wrapped around him, even though I had no fear that he'd let me fall. Sometime later, the sounds of choked laughter and high-pitched barking penetrated the sensual haze that had blanketed us.

"Hello again, you two," my eyes cleared to show that the older man who owned the dog we'd played with here a while back was standing just a short distance away. The little dog was dancing around us, occasionally jumping up against Embry's legs.

"Hey, Mr. Pelletier," Embry greeted him and then the dog. "Guess you missed me, huh, Pixie?"

"She has," Mr. Pelletier agreed. "Think I see why you haven't been around as much lately, though."

Embry laughed and let me slide down until my feet were back on the sand. "Yeah. Gotta get in as much time with my girl as I can."

"School's starting up again soon, isn't it?"

"Next week. I'm going to be taking some classes up in Forks, too. Good thing I've got someone to show me the ropes," he grinned down at me.

"And what do I get out of it?" I teased, even though I'd always planned to help Embry get his bearings at my school.

The slow roguish smile that appeared on his lips answered the question, and delivered such a jolt to my system that my panties dampened instantly. Because I was still watching him, I caught how Embry's nostrils flared in reaction and how his eyes darkened. But all he said was, "More time with me, of course."

Bold Bella made her reappearance and refused to let me be embarrassed about being caught out; rather, it was empowering to know that Embry knew I wanted him. "I do like the idea of that. But then it makes it seem like I'm doing this because I'm being rewarded and not because it's the right thing to do."

"Nothing says it can't be both," commented Mr. Pelletier. "You're not doing it _because_ of a reward, but nothing says you can't enjoy a reward if one gets presented."

"I guess that's true."

"Wanna play, girl?" Embry asked the dog. She barked loudly and enthusiastically.

"Go on, then," her owner said, and she took off running down the beach. Embry leaned down like he was about to run after her, only he reached over, took hold of my arm, and somehow swung me onto his back. My arms and legs fastened themselves around his neck and waist on reflex-then he started to sprint after the little dog. It turned out that she was waiting for us just a short way farther down the beach. Embry began tossing a stick for her like he'd done before, only now it was being thrown farther and harder than last time. After a few rounds of that, he insisted that it was now my turn to participate in the game of fetch. Having him stand behind me again to guide my movements...my mind definitely wasn't on anything he was saying or trying to show me. All I could focus on was the heat of his body along my back, and the hard, heavy weight of his erection pressing against my backside.

"You're d-doing that on purpose, aren't you?" I gasped out.

"_You_ are," Embry denied. "I've been in this state practically from the second you showed up at Sam's place this morning. All I can see is you, all I can smell is you, all I want is you."

"Then how long are you going to wait to have me?" I purred, deliberately leaning backward to increase our physical contact.

Something low and deep rumbled in Embry's chest and vibrated through my ears and down through my own body. Yet again I reacted to him, moisture saturating my panties and starting a trickle down my leg. A finger swiped across my thigh, collecting the streak of fluid.

"Delicious," growled Embry. In a blur, I was on his back again, and he was moving, telling Pixie it was time to go home. My car was abandoned in the beach parking lot as Embry used a shortcut to leave the beach and head toward his home. His new strength and speed was put to use, getting us to the house faster than my car could have made the trip. The front door had barely closed behind us when Embry reenacted our beach pose; this time, though, his hands came around me and cupped my breasts. The gentle squeeze wrung a groan from my throat. "Do you like that?" Embry purred, knowing the answer full well-I'd always loved it when he did this.

"Ngh," was all the answer he got. My head tipped back into his chest, which had the effect of pushing my breasts even deeper into his hands.

"What do you want me to do now, my Bella?" His hands released me, only to appear underneath my elbows and keep me from falling to the floor. "What do you want, Bella?" Embry's breath whispered over my hair.

The lessened physical contact reactivated some of my fried brain cells. I knew what I wanted Embry to do, and I knew that he knew what I wanted; clearly, however, he was insisting that I _say_ it. This assertiveness was a new facet to him, but one that was oddly thrilling. "Take me to bed," I whispered.

Embry reacted instantly to my words, lifting me up and covering the short distance to his bedroom rapidly. The sound of the door shutting behind us coincided with my landing on the mattress.

"Strip," he commanded me.

"Don't you want to unwrap your present yourself?" I offered the rejoinder.

"Do you want to be able to wear your own clothes home today? If I touch them, you'll end up with new cleaning rags, Bella."

The idea of Embry ripping my clothes to shreds fit would fit right into a romance novel plot. But in practical terms, I did like this outfit and didn't want to try to fumble through any awkward explanations to our parents, so I started removing each item of clothing, tossing them aside without caring where anything landed.

"I do like my present," Embry said as he watched me. I looked up to see that Embry was already naked, leaning back against his dresser, one hand stroking himself to the sight of me getting naked for him. The rest of my clothes dropped to the floor and I crooked a finger at him.

"Come here."

Embry stalked over to the bed. I reached up with one of my hands and touched his. "Let me." Embry's hand lifted off his cock and mine replaced it, using the droplets leaking from him as lubrication for my strokes. Based on his groans and how his hips flexed, I knew I was doing just fine. Curiosity compelled me to lean forward and lightly kiss the spongy tip. Embry gave a strangled shout and his hips jerked forward, bringing him an inch or two into my mouth. Automatically, I sucked, like he was a popsicle-or a banana.

"Fuck, Bella," groaned Embry.

"Do you like that?" I breathed. He twitched visibly and moaned.

"L-like it? D-d-reamed-this. G-g-ood-d." Embry's voice was broken and his body trembled as I repeated my maneuver. I'd only done some reading in private about this, so my knowledge of what to do was just theoretical, but Embry appeared to like it so far. Emboldened, I drew back and then moved forward again, taking a little more of him into my mouth and rubbing my tongue on the bottom side of his dick. That got a shout out of him.

"My turn," Embry growled, hands tangling in my hair and holding me still. Now, he started to move himself in and out of my mouth, fucking it like I wanted him to fuck my body. He was so long that I couldn't fit all of him in my mouth, but he didn't push the issue. I did use my hands to resume stroking the base of his cock and down over and around his balls. Just like in my own dream, the sac was hard and tight. With a curse, he pulled out of my mouth and used his new and fast reflexes to shove my body farther up the bed. I looked up at him in a daze, to see him pulling a condom wrapper out of his drawer and quickly rolling it down onto his length. My heartrate began to accelerate when Embry come down to crouch over me. He rubbed himself up and then back down the front side of my body, firing off more nerve receptors than I knew I possessed.

"I'm gonna fuck you now," Embry's voice rumbled in my ear. "Gonna fuck you good."

"Now," I agreed. He nudged my legs wider apart, lined himself up, and then pushed all the way inside me in a single stroke, jerking a strangled scream from my throat. Embry was as good as his word, long strokes alternating between fast and slow, with a little lift at the end that brought him right up against a sensitive bundle of nerves deep within me. Then he started switching between that and doing-something-over and around my clit. I was on such sensory overload that it seemed to take almost no time at all before my body began trying to thrash under his weight. My muscles started to tighten and clench, then gripped him hard as the world disappeared in a blinding white eruption.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Embry POV

Feeling Bella take me into her mouth for the first time...dreams didn't even come close to how good it felt. By the end of the first suck, I was already locking my muscles to keep from collapsing, and thinking anything and everything I could to avoid coming. We hadn't done this before, so it was new territory for both of us. The last thing I wanted was to shove my dick all the way into her throat and make her gag; that would probably put her off giving me head again-at least for a while-and I really, _really_ wanted this to happen again. Even with it being new, Bella was still making me feel incredible with those sucks and licks, and then when she started stroking the base of my cock and then down to my balls. But I had to put a stop to that, fast. I didn't want to come in her mouth-this time-and needed to get inside her _now._

I barely remembered to put on a condom before I landed in a crouch over Bella's prone figure. Sliding inside her hot, wet welcoming body was like coming home. I mixed up my movements to try and make this last as long as I possibly could. But it still wasn't long enough before she began to tighten around me like a vise. Her body thrashed, long hair blinding me from the force of her convulsions. With one last grind against her clit and a final uplift into her g-spot, my balls refused to resist the inevitable any longer and emptied my load of cum into the condom. Muscle control also abandoned me, and my weight came down to smash Bella into the mattress. But as soon as I could, I pushed myself back up, reluctantly pulling out of my girlfriend's-my imprint's-body. After disposing of the condom, I settled back onto the bed, pulling Bella next to me, and tugging the sheet over us both. Her breathing was still ragged, her form vibrating against me, and she looked dead to the world.

"Was I too rough?" I asked, trying to use my enhanced senses to pick up any signs that I'd been too aggressive.

"Ngh," Bella repeated her earlier statement. "Good. Tired." Only my keen hearing let me pick up and interpret her words. We lay on my bed in comfortable silence for a while, until Bella shifted onto her side and laid her head down on my shoulder. "So what happens now?"

"I guess I figure out all this wolf stuff, and we work through the imprint stuff."

"What-patrolling, right? Isn't that what they were talking about earlier?"

"Yeah. There's some kind of schedule and everyone takes turns. Guess I'll see what it's like tomorrow."

"What about school?" Bella was clearly thinking about our conversation with Mr. Pelletier on the beach today.

"Everybody who's still in it is supposed to go as much as possible. The school here apparently works with them to excuse absences."

"What about you and Forks High?"

"Sam already said I can still do it-have to be there for you, don't I? I'll just have to make sure that jerks like Mike Newton don't make me lose my temper."

"Like Jake did yesterday?"

"Did he scare you?" My hand started stroking along her spine.

"A little bit, I guess. I didn't know what was going on, and he was just so _angry_...Paul and Quil got him out of the living room and outside before anything happened, though. Do you know what happened after that?"

I snorted. Did I ever know what had happened. "He came here. Said all kinds of shitty stuff. Then he came at me. He phased, I phased-" I broke off, but after thinking a second, continued "-we fought. Sam broke it up. Jacob was sent home, and I went out with Paul and Jared, and ended up at your house."

"What did he say? Did he hurt you? Did you kick his ass?" Bella bolted upright and started to look me over.

"I guess it ended up being a draw. Got a few and dealt a few. But they seemed to think I did really well, especially when I didn't even know then what was going on."

Bella's hands were still running over me as she searched for the injuries. The sheet had fallen away when she'd sat up, and my Bella was next to me, naked, and I was naked. I grabbed her hands to still them. "You won't find anything. Super-fast healing, remember? I was completely fine again before I made it to your place."

"You _are_ fine," she agreed, "but don't avoid the question. What did he say to you then-and later, at my house?"

My jaw clenched involuntarily. "What you'd expect. Throwing my unknown paternity back in my face, bringing my mom into it-" More than just my jaw was rigid with remembered anger now, which Bella noticed. She leaned down, her breasts resting against my chest as her hands framed my face.

"You didn't listen to him then, so don't do it now. Just keep focused on me, Embry."

Like I could do anything else right now. The skin contact was giving my body ideas that shouldn't be possible yet. Even though I'd just had an intense orgasm just minutes ago, my cock was already hardening up again, eager for another round.

"Oh, I will," I acquiesced. Without warning, I rolled us over so that Bella was on the bottom and then scooted her to the middle of the mattress. "Turn around is fair play, you know," my comment was given as I began inching my way downward, pressing a kiss to her torso between each word. My first move was to devote attention to those wonderful breasts, laving each with my tongue, teasing each nipple between my teeth. Then I kept going, pushing her legs apart so that I could settle between them, kneeling on the floor at the foot of my bed.

"Wha-?" Bella squeaked.

"You tasted me, so I'm going to taste you." The announcement brought a flush of moisture to the curls between her legs and the scent of her arousal filled my nose again.

_Be gentle and take it slow,_ I reminded myself. _Put that independent study reading to good use. _I rested Bella's legs over my shoulders and slid my hands under her butt to lift her closer to my mouth. Then I gave a long flat-tongued lick over the full length of her pussy. Bella screamed and writhed against my sheets.

"Mouthwatering," I informed my overwhelmed imprint. "Absolutely tasty." I licked her again to capture every drop that her body was producing. It was like the ambrosia of the gods, and something I would never tire of sampling. I ran the edge of my tongue along the slit; Bella's legs clamped around my head in a death-grip. But since I didn't want to move, that didn't bother me. I just imitated what I'd done earlier with my dick and fucked Bella with my mouth. I tortured us both by taking this to the edge and then backing off, repeating it over and over again. By the time I finally had mercy and brought Bella to orgasm, my hands had migrated to press down against her torso to keep her anchored to the bed. _She_ was now sated, but I was still on the knife-edge of unsatisfied arousal.

"Am I alive?" Bella garbled.

"Yes." I grabbed another condom and rolled it onto my cock with an economy of motion. I moved to cover Bella's body with my own again, hooked a hand and foot under her, and then did a fast flip that had me lying on my back and Bella on top of me. "One more time, and I'll let you sleep," I promised. In a bench-press type move, I lifted Bella into the air with one hand and held my cock steady with the other. "Ride me, Bella," I commanded, and lowered her smoothly down the length of my dick, making her moan.

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Bella POV

My independent nature ought to have had me protesting at being manhandled so easily by Embry-but I wasn't objecting. For one thing, the results of him doing it were so pleasurable that complaining would have just been spiteful to both of us. And it was _Embry. _So I gave myself up to the sensations overwhelming me. It was a good thing he was so strong now, because all the orgasms I'd had so far-how many?-had me almost totally drained of energy. Embry used me as a counterweight to sit up and deliver a devouring kiss, then dropped us back down for a circling grind of our connected bodies. I felt so full and out of breath...and then I shattered yet again in his arms. But this time I didn't have to worry about getting lost or being irreparably destroyed-Embry's arms were wrapped tightly around me. That was the last thing I knew before the darkness of dreamless oblivion set in. I woke up sometime later to amazing smells that set my stomach rumbling.

"Hungry?" I opened my eyes to the sight of Embry sitting on a chair beside the bed.

"Yeah," I said. "I've had quite the workout today." Embry's look was one of smug self-approval.

"So since I wore you out, I'm going to feed you up again." He scooted a TV tray closer to the bed, helped me sit up, and piled pillows behind my back.

"Um, can you hand me my shirt?"

"Why?"

"I'm naked, that's why."

"_I know._" His voice rumbled in a way that made me think of the wolf that he now carried inside himself.

"Embry!" I waited until he was looking up at me and not at my bare breasts. "If you keep doing that, then we'll both end up flat on the bed again. As great as the sex is-and it _is_ great-I need to recharge my energy levels, remember? I need food before anything else."

He blinked. "Yeah. Food."

"Um...I did learn how to feed myself a long time ago," I said.

"But we want to take care of you."

"We? You and your wolf?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Shirt?" Making a show of being reluctant, Embry did cross the room to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt for me to put on. Then he started taking care of me as promised. I actually was fine with it. Having Embry feed me was such an example of his caring nature-and also demonstrated his newly discovered sneaky ways, what with how he kept trying to turn it into foreplay.

"Embry! I'm sweaty and icky now. And sticky, thanks to those orange slices."

"We can lick you clean," he offered.

"I think I'd prefer a shower. And I'm not sure if I'm really up to another round right now, honestly."

His head tucked downward. "I'm sorry, Bella. I'm pushing, aren't I?" Embry looked up at me now. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to. Jared said this was intense in the beginning, but I didn't really understand what he meant. I'm being selfish and-"

"No, you aren't. I know you've enjoyed what we've been doing, and you've made sure that I've gotten just as much out of it as you have. I love knowing that you want me, Embry. I'm just not as strong as you are and I need more recovery time. Plus, I don't want Paul to tease me for walking funny-or Charlie to start waving his shotgun around."

Embry snorted and related how Paul had brought up Charlie's gun to get him to leave my house last night.

"Definitely not. You've got a nice ass now, so no bullet holes."

"You like my ass?" his eyes gleamed.

"I like the whole package," I countered. "Now, I'd like my shower, and then..."

"We can do anything you want to the rest of the day, until the council meeting this evening."

"Am I supposed to go to that?"

"We both are. Since we're 'part of the tribe now', and all. Emily Uley left a message on the machine while we were at the beach; I saw it when I went to fix the food after taking my shower while you were sleeping."

Embry whisked the lunch debris back to the kitchen and then returned to escort me to my promised shower. His shirt was long enough on me that everything important was covered. Judging by the growling purr noise he made, Embry _loved_ seeing me wear his clothes. I stood under the spray and let it soothe my body and spirit. Maybe I'd have to look into klutz-friendly fitness routines to build up my stamina. Keeping up with my sexy wolf-boyfriend was clearly going to take a lot of energy. I basked in the steamy warmth of the shower until the water started to cool. Then I got dressed and went to find Embry.

"What do you want to do?" he asked me.

"I don't really care."

"Well, we'd better think of something—something that gets us out of this house—before I have you back in my bed again."

Faced with that statement of fact, I scrambled to think of what we could do that was away from here, but not where we might run into Jacob. Hearing what he'd said to Embry—even if I'd almost expected something of the sort—really made me want to hurt him in return.

"We could go to the Thriftway in Forks and get our school supplies. I don't know about you, but I haven't gotten anything yet, and with classes starting next week… Probably ought to get it all now, before everything is picked over."

"Sounds good." Embry scrawled a quick note to his mom, grabbed some money from the petty cash jar, and then we headed for my car.


	41. What Comes Next

Jana: Thank you. Happy you love the story. Bella and Embry did have a good time (wink). I'm not sure that Jake will be causing more problems deliberately. School will be interesting, I agree, with Embry navigating a new school campus, dual schools, classmates, and Bella. Thanks for appreciating all the effort that goes into each new chapter. Sometimes I wish I could be like some writers and have a story complete before I start posting it, but that's just not my style. I really need the interactions with readers for motivation, and their thoughts and comments often spark story developments.

Mei fa-chan: Thank you. I'm glad that you liked the latest chapter.

Lenniem (from chapter 37): Yeah, Paul is really smooth. Happy you're enjoying things. And…congrats on giving review #1,050 for this story!

Lenniem (from chapter 40): Yes, our dear Bella and Embry are getting quite close indeed. "Interesting" is probably going to be an understatement where the council meeting is concerned.

Guest(2) (from chapter 39): I hope chapter 40 came soon enough, and this one, too.

AN: Thank you to everyone who nominated "Jagged Edges Heal" for 2 Fandom Choice Awards! It's up for Best Non Canon Romance and Best Love Scene. Voting goes through January 3, 2014.

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Narrator POV

Emily looked around her now-empty house and sighed. Jacob Black had left just a short time earlier, having firmly shot down her effort to talk with him after Sam had left for work.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Emily. I've had enough words sent my way today. I need some time alone to think, like Sam _said_."

Emily felt a little regret in letting him just walk out, but Sam had told him to go and think everything through, and Jacob was planning to do that. And in any case, she wasn't sure what she would have said to him anyway. That didn't stop another sigh, though. She loved her life now, and Sam and Levi, but sometimes everything that had come along with them was like being in the middle of the zoo and a three-ring circus mashed together. She lifted her son from his high chair and carried him to the living room. It only took a moment to pull Levi's bag of Lego blocks and matching table from a corner and move both to the middle of the rug.

"Do you want to build something?" Emily asked the toddler.

"Bok," Levi babbled his word for 'blocks'.

"There you go." Emily watched him crawl to the Lego table and haul himself up onto his feet. With Levi occupied, Emily retrieved the phone and started calling other women connected with the pack. Only Sue Clearwater and Joy Ateara were available, but both came right over. With cups of tea and a plate of muffins in front of them, Emily filled her guests in on the developments since the council meeting the night before.

"So Bella took it pretty well?" Joy asked.

"Surprisingly," Emily agreed. "But she did say she was good with weird, which definitely helps. I'm not even sure Bella really blinked twice at the supernatural things she learned today. Of course, with her background, she probably got a lot of the shock and surprise emotions out of the way a while ago. I guess if you know that one impossible thing is true, then it's much easier to believe that something else strange is also real."

Joy nodded. "We do live in strange times. A few months ago, she was dating a vampire, and now..."

"And now," Sue Clearwater agreed. "Now she's the imprint of a wolf. I have to admit that I'm happy for them both. I was honestly pretty worried a while back about what might happen if Bella came to love Embry before Jake got a chance to see her again and then imprinted. To have a second love torn away from her...no one could deserve to lose so much and have no say in anything that happened. It's quite a relief to have all my fears be pointless now. Bella will have the rest of her life with the man she loves, and the wolf who will do anything for her. And I think it'll really help Embry to have someone like Bella to always be able to count on. How is the pack reacting to this imprinting?"

"Paul's rather smug that he saw more than anyone else did where Embry and Bella are concerned. Jared doesn't seem to have much opinion either way. Sam and Quil have been more conflicted. Wanting to be happy for Bella and Embry on one side, but aware of all the potential problems on the other hand."

"Problems meaning Jacob," Joy stated.

"That's the big one. Sam talked to him after the pack meeting was over, and Jake and I chatted a little more before he left a little while ago. I think maybe-just maybe-Jacob is starting to realize that trying to fight things like he's been doing will be about as successful as attempting to keep a wave from coming ashore."

"We can hope," Joy agreed, "but Jacob has always been stubborn."

"How did Jacob react to the imprint?" Sue wanted to know.

"He was a bit upset. 'Why him?' 'Why not me?' That sort of thing. But Sam had ordered Jake to stay put before the conversation even started, so him running off to find Embry like yesterday wasn't a possibility," replied Emily.

"What will Sam do about things?"

"I think he's planning to keep Jake and Embry on different patrol shifts for now, at least as much as he can. Even with Sam giving Embry an Alpha-order not to think about sex with Bella while he's phased, only time will tell if it actually works. The last thing we need or want is another wolf fight between those two."

"So you think Bella and Embry will..." Joy trailed off, but Emily picked up the thought easily.

"Keep on having sex? Why would we think anything else? They're in love, teenagers, and imprinted in-love teenagers to boot. _Of course_, they'll be having more sex. They'll be just like Sam and I, or Jared and Kim." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Emily froze. "Oh, hell-o!" she exclaimed, amending the near-imprecation just in time-Levi was becoming quite the mimic these days.

"Emily?"

"What's wrong?"

"We didn't tell them," the Alpha's wife and imprint whispered. "They don't know."

Sue covered the younger woman's hand with hers. "Didn't tell them what? What aren't they aware of?"

"When we talked about all of the pack and imprint information this morning, no one brought up marking. Embry and Bella don't know about it-or about the inevitable result of a mark being given by the wolf."

The two older women exchanged a worried glance, understanding Emily's concern. Emily had conceived Levi very soon after she and Sam had solidified their relationship, and Jared and Kim had barely lasted past their graduations this spring before taking the step that would see them become parents by the end of winter. All this firsthand experience, plus the volumes of tribal lore, made it clear that if-or rather when-Embry marked Bella, a baby would soon follow for them, too. And given that their relationship in general-not just the imprint-was still very new, not to mention that both were just about to start their senior year in high school..."hell-o", indeed.

Emily scrambled to locate the sheet of paper with all the pack phone numbers on it-not having had any time to start memorizing Bella's or Embry's yet-and called both of them. She ended up leaving voicemails for both-"There's something else we need to talk about regarding the imprint. Call me as soon as you get this."

"And if they don't," added Sue, "you can catch them tonight at the meeting."

"I know," Emily squared her shoulders. "I'm just upset with myself for having forgotten something like that."

"It'll be okay," Sue assured her. "You remembered, that's the important thing, and you'll make sure that neither Embry nor Bella have to face irate parents. Charlie would not be happy at all if his little girl got knocked up in high school, no matter how much he likes Embry."

"But you think he'll be fine with Embry being the father of his grandchildren eventually? He won't think Bella could do better than a boy from the rez?" Joy mused.

"Joy! Charlie Swan has only been best friends with my Harry and with Billy-and with your Quil while he was alive-since all of them were boys. Those friendships wouldn't have lasted for decades if Charlie was the least bit prejudiced or racist. Embry being native won't matter to Charlie at all, as long as Bella is loved and cared for, and Embry will do that."

"But other people might be prejudiced and care about it," Emily thought aloud. "This is a small tribe-bloodlines are important. Children have to be at least half-Quileute to be considered part of the tribe. Embry's only half, and his imprint isn't even native at all. What's going to happen with that?"

"Embry is one of the tribe's protectors, and Bella is his imprint. They will be accepted and welcomed-and so will their children," Sue decreed.

"Really?" the Alpha's mate was dubious. "Tiffany Call is protecting the secret like it's some kind of priceless treasure—or a ticking bomb. She clearly doesn't want it to come out. But it will have to if Embry is going to have a place here—we all know about the talk that started spreading after Jacob and Quil distanced themselves from him a few weeks ago."

"And while most families might not mind him being acknowledged as a son of the tribe, one family definitely will have issues with it," Joy noted, with amazing aplomb, considering that her late husband was one of the candidates for Embry's father.

"We'll all have our parts to play in ensuring that Embry and Bella gain that acceptance," said Sue. "Once Tiffany talks, then we'll figure out more of what to do and who will do it."

Emily squared her shoulders, knowing that Sue was right and that the issue could be shelved for the moment. "Alright, Sam wants a bonfire on Friday, and amazingly enough the weather looks cooperative. So we'll need..."

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Bella POV

The trip from La Push didn't take too long, though it had involved walking back to the beach to retrieve my car from the parking lot.

"So what do we need?" Embry asked.

"Just the basics, really. Binders, loose-leaf notebook paper, and spiral notebooks. Blue and black ink pens, pencils-"

"Bella?"

I turned and saw Angela and Jessica starting down the aisle of school and office supplies at the Thriftway.

"Wow!" Both my friends were practically drooling as they gave Embry some serious look-overs while approaching us. "Have you been hitting the gym a lot lately?"

"Growth spurt," Embry offered in a casual manner.

"I'll say," Jessica mouthed. Her lips kept moving, but I couldn't tell what she was saying. But judging by the smirk on his face, Embry did hear her just fine.

"How have you two been?" asked Angela. "It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."

"I guess we've just been keeping busy. Enjoying every last minute of summer vacation while we can."

"And hiking, too, from what I heard," Jessica commented. At my questioning look, she continued, "Mike caught me the other day. Wanted to grill me about-well, you," she said to Embry, "-all the deets, and what I knew about you coming to school with us. What's the deal with that?"

"Shared studies program," Embry explained. "Kids from La Push can come and take classes here that the school on the rez can't provide. And I'm not going to complain about spending more time with my girl,"

"And keeping the pests away from her?" Embry looked at Angela in question, so she elaborated, "The guys have always hovered around her, like bugs on a house light. Not that she's ever encouraged them, but-"

"-but they can't fathom the idea of a girl not being interested in them, so they keep trying to get her attention. Clueless," snorted Jessica.

"Yeah, I kinda got that from Newton the other day. He sure didn't like hearing I was Bella's boyfriend. Bummmerrr." Everyone laughed.

"He's not _all_ bad," I defended. "Mike did suffer through being my gym partner last year. But, yeah, he is pretty clueless not see that I'm not interested."

"So," Jessica turned back to Embry, "Are you going to go out for one of the sports teams this year?"

"Nah. Not really interested, plus I'm not sure I'd have the time. Looks like I'll be getting a tribal job this year." And that was true, if misleading. But my friends, good as they were, couldn't know this new secret in my life any more than I'd been able to tell them the earlier ones.

"The guys of Forks High will probably be relieved."

"We really need to do something this weekend. A last hurrah to summer," Angela suggested. "You two in?"

Embry and I exchanged glances. "We might be. Do we have anything already planned?" I asked.

"Well, Sam was talking about a bonfire, but not when," answered Embry. "We can ask them tonight if it's been scheduled yet."

"Can we get back to you?" I queried Angela.

"Sure. Is the bonfire open to anyone or invitation-only?"

"Dunno," Embry shrugged. "I can ask, but I almost think this one will be restricted. Sorry."

"_I'm_ the one who's sorry, for putting you on the spot with it. It's no big deal. I'm half-Quinault, remember, so I know about tribe-only things."

"Don't worry about it. Like Bella said, we can let you know."

"Doing anything else today?" Jessica asked.

"We've got plans back in La Push this evening, but the rest of the afternoon is open. What about a movie at my place?" I suggested.

Both my friends agreed, and offered to bring snacks for all of us to enjoy.

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Jacob POV

I left Sam's house and just walked. No destination in mind, just walking and thinking-or not thinking-whatever.

"Greetings, Ephraim's heir." I turned to see that Quil's grandpa had somehow snuck up on me. Man, I was out of it to miss that.

"Am I? Sam doesn't think so. Squashed me like a bug when I brought it up," I grimaced at the memory of being forced to the ground by Sam's will.

"You are Ephraim's great-grandson," the old man replied. "But the role of Alpha is not hereditary in the way that chieftainship of the tribe is."

"Then why would Dad-" I broke off. Old Quil knew what I'd been about to say, though.

"Billy saw his grandfather and the others phase once, when they were very old men-like me," he quipped. "Billy was just a small boy at the time. I imagine the experience stuck in his mind, as some childhood memories sometimes do. Perhaps the hope was born that he might become a wolf like his Ephraim," Old Quil sighed. "That was not what fate intended either, no more than it was my son's fate to see his own son grow up."

I didn't like to reflect how my best friend had lost his dad in a shipwreck, any more than I cared to remember my mom's death in that car crash. It was harder not to think of my dad's slow physical decline in recent years, as his diabetes had robbed him of mobility and independence. It couldn't be changed and just had to be lived with. But that didn't mean there hadn't been times when I had played "what if?' and dreamed of Mom still being around, or Dad being fit again...

"It is natural for parents to have dreams for their children," Old Quil spoke softly, almost to himself. "That is easy. It is much harder to let those dreams go, to accept that they will not happen. It was not Billy's destiny to become a wolf or Alpha."

"Did you have that dream, too? Being a wolf?"

"For a time. But I was older and I had seen more than either Billy or Joshua had. I knew, in ways they never could, of everything that came with being a wolf. I am not sure that others saw it as the burden it can prove to be. I think Charles Uley resented that he wasn't a wolf like his father, and passed that on to his son Joshua. They both felt the lack of not being what Levi Uley had been. I have sometimes thought that this might be why Joshua left-to get away from the history and disappointment."

"And my dad? Did he want this for me?"

"Did he want you to phase? No. But once it was clear that you would, he may well have hoped that you would rise to Ephraim's role eventually."

"_That_ won't happen, according to Sam," the words were bitter in my mouth.

"Samuel had many difficulties, being alone for weeks as a wolf, with no idea what had happened to him or what to do. Perhaps worst of all was our blindness in not seeing what was happening to him. Would you have fared any better, young Jacob? You may well become Alpha someday, or perhaps not. I would hope that the threat to our tribe would be long since gone and with it the need for a pack. But it is no one's destiny to become Alpha of this pack, any more than in the wolf-packs in nature. Leadership goes to the fittest wolf. Is that you, now?" The words were mild; the meaning behind them wasn't. "If you do wish to ascend to the position of Alpha, then you must prove yourself worthy of that position—to Samuel, to your tribe, and to the spirits of our ancestors."

"_How do I do that?"_ My tone was sarcastic.

"You must look carefully at yourself, Jacob Black. You must see your words and actions as they truly are and not how you might wish to justify them. You must consider your motivations for the things you say and do. Is your intent to support others or destroy them? Do you wish to be judged a son of Taha Aki, or a son of Utlapa?"

A hard punch of guilt impacted against my ribs. I tried to shake it off, but the feeling wouldn't go away and just stuck to me like superglue. My friend Quil had been saying something a lot like this not too long ago.

"How do I do that?" This time, my voice wasn't nearly so defiant.

"Think. Remember. Ask the spirits for wisdom and discernment. Be willing to tear away what is on the surface to look underneath. Come with me."

I didn't entirely want to, but Quil Ateara III was impossible to say no to.

"Why wasn't I the one to imprint on Bella?" I asked the question, not sure what answer I would get or even what answer I wanted.

Old Quil was silent for a while, thinking, and then answered, "An imprint is not just about a woman being right for the wolf, but the wolf being right for the woman. What were you to Bella? How did she feel about you?"

"Best friends. She called me her 'sun' sometimes, 'cause I was so cheerful all the time." I almost couldn't remember being that person, like it had been in someone else's lifetime.

"Perhaps that's what she needs you to be, rather than a life-mate. Lovers should always be friends, but friends shouldn't always become lovers." Talking about sex with my friend's grandfather was beyond weird and embarrassing. "My father imprinted on a woman not of this tribe, a hok'wat. In those days, to marry outside one's race was almost unheard of—illegal in some cases. Had it not been for the imprint, my parents would not have been allowed to be together. Something about both Bella and Embry was just what the other most needed. Just because you aren't her imprint doesn't mean that you cannot be part of her life."

I wanted to say something like 'But I don't want to just be friends', but I choked back the words. As Quil had said, it wouldn't change anything. I hadn't imprinted on Bella-Embry had. She wasn't mine, no matter how much I still wanted her to be.

"Bella was not your destined mate. That honor belongs to another woman. Will you see her, if you refuse to let go of the one who was not meant to be yours?"

I didn't have an answer for him. Part of me didn't want to think of another girl taking Bella's place in my heart and life, the way Embry had replaced me. Yet at the same time, Old Quil's words just now resonated with me somehow. I could still be part of Bella's life, even if it wasn't in the way I'd wanted. Wasn't something better than nothing?

"What do I do?" I asked quietly.

"What are you to do today?" the elder asked in turn.

"Sam told me to go somewhere and think about stuff."

"Then that is what you shall do. Wait here." For an old man, he was still really spry and moved pretty quickly. He was soon back, and holding out a leather flask to me. "Take this and drink it all once you've arrived at your thinking place."

"What is it?" my tone was suspicious, and my nose wrinkled when I sniffed at the contents.

"Ask not. Just do." And Old Quil left me as quickly as he'd joined me.

_Okay, Jake. Let's start thinking…_

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AN: I have made a change from canon in what Old Quil said to Jacob about his parents. According to the Twilight Illustrated Companion, it was Old Quil who married Molly Swan and not Quil II like I'm saying here.

I was going to have more Jacob stuff in this chapter, but I don't have it plotted out yet, and I didn't think it was fair to hold back this chapter because of it, especially when it was already at a good length. So you get this now, and we'll see in the next chapter how Jacob spends his afternoon.


	42. Reality Check

AN: I am so thrilled and honored to report that "Jagged Edges Heal" won Fandom Choice Awards in both categories that it was nominated in. It got 3rd place in the "Best Non-Canon Story" category and 1st place in the "Best Love Scene" voting! Thank you to everyone who nominated/voted.

Mei-fa chan: Thanks. Glad you liked the last chapter, and hope you enjoy this one, too.

Guest: You're not the only one who really likes Paul in this story. He's turned into quite the scene-stealer. I hope this came soon enough. It's a really important chapter and that meant spending some extra time to make sure that everything was 'just right'.

Guest2: Thanks.

The all mighty and powerfulM: Thanks, I'm glad you love this story. Sorry that this update took a while. This part of the story is important, and most of this chapter gave me fits for a while.

AN: Sorry this took so long. As usual, Jake didn't make it easy on me to pull all his stuff together. Plus, I got really busy and that didn't leave me time or a clear head to untangle all the writer's block. Just an FYI that Jake's section of this chapter will have quite a few snippets of content from earlier chapter. Our errant wolf has a lot of hard thinking to do just now, and that involves recalling the things that other people have said to him lately that he ignored or brushed aside. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I'd love to know what you think of Jacob's reality-check.

Many thanks to mc7575 and Feebes for giving me suggestions and reading drafts of this chapter. You both were huge helps here.

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Jacob POV

I found myself on the beach, my feet having automatically carried me to the massive driftwood that I'd come to consider Bella's and my spot. _But there's no 'our spot' anymore, because there's no 'us',_ I reminded myself bitterly. Sam said I should just accept this whole imprint and be happy for Bella and Embry-but I can't. It makes me furious to know that she isn't mine, and that I have to watch her with _him_. It isn't fair! I'd had all these dreams for Bells and me, and then Embry had sneaked in when I hadn't been there and stole my spot.

Well, this driftwood had been my spot on the beach before, so it would just have to become that again. Back resting against the wind- and water-smoothed side of the outcropping, I stared out at the waves. How the hell had everything turned upside-down, inside-out, and whatever else?

Anger boiled up inside me again and I had to fight the wolf back down. Someone was sure to be on patrol right now, and I knew they'd jump to tattle on me to Sam if I phased instead of thinking about stuff like I was supposed to do today. Well, that and drink whatever the hell it was that Quil's grandpa had given me. But first there was a prayer he wanted me to say. Looking down at the piece of paper he'd given me, I read through the words.

**Oh, Great Spirit whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me. I am small and weak, I need your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people. Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy- myself. Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes. So when my life fades, as the fading sunset, my Spirit may come to you without shame. **

It seemed hokey to me, and I scoffed at it. But I still said the words, though probably not with anything approaching the sincerity that Old Quil would have wanted. It felt a bit like when I'd told Bella the tribal stories; I'd known it was against all the rules to share them with an outsider, but she'd been interested—which had stoked my ego-and I hadn't believed that any of them were anything other than tall tales, so I'd done it. With a fatalistic shrug, I twisted off the cap of the bottle that he'd had given me.

"Here goes nothing," and I tipped the contents into my mouth. As soon as the foul-smelling liquid hit my tongue, my stomach wanted to hurl. Somehow, though, I choked the contents down. Instantly, I was in the middle of some psychedelic swirl of colors as the world twisted away from me.

"Jacob Ephraim Black." The resounding voice made my head twist around in an attempt to find its source.

"Who are you?" I called out.

"Can you not guess?"

"Taha Aki?"

"Yes."

I blinked and looked up to see an unfamiliar man standing beside me. He was even taller than I was, his body strong and powerful, and his hair long and braided. He was wearing old-fashioned tribal clothing, the kind that nobody wore today outside of a ceremonial occasion.

"Taha Aki," my head bowed in almost involuntary respect. The power emanating from this man was palpable.

"Jacob," he replied. "Why are you here?"

"Because my life is a mess," my tone wasn't the politest one, but it was the best that I could manage.

"And why is that?" he began walking along the beach, gesturing for me to accompany him. Before I registered it, my body had already risen up from its slouched position against the driftwood and automatically began following him.

I opened my mouth to answer the question, but shut it abruptly. Telling this powerful chief that my life had been shredded to hell and back because of the inheritance he'd passed down to me probably wouldn't go over well at all-but somehow, I didn't really care. Finally, "My life is totally screwed up now! I turned into a giant wolf a few weeks ago, none of my clothes fit, I've got to obey Sam Uley's orders, had to abandon one of my best friends-and then he went and stole the girl I love away from me."

"Did she love you in return?"

My throat closed up, choking off my automatic, "Of course she did." But I couldn't say that-not with Embry having imprinted on her—and that on top of what Bella herself had said. "_He's my boyfriend, I love him, and we both wanted this."_

Taha Aki was clearly waiting for me to answer.

"Apparently not. But she could have if I hadn't been ordered to stay away from her for weeks."

"And who did that?"

"Sam Uley. On an Alpha power trip."

"You were a new wolf then?"

"Yes."

"Why did he order you not to see the girl?"

"He said I didn't have enough control!"

"Did you?"

Yet again, I couldn't deny the truth. "Not in the beginning, but it didn't take me that long to get it. But by then she was mad at me and wouldn't let me explain."

"Did you see the girl eventually?"

"Yeah-but by then Embry had already gotten there."

"How did you respond?"

"I was furious! Sam had promised that she was meant for me, and Embry stole her away."

"Did he? By your own words, she did not love you, and so was free to give her love as she wished. If this Embry proved himself worthy, then he was rewarded by the spirits with the love of a fine woman."

"But what made him more worthy than me? I'm full Quileute, descended from the last Alpha. Embry's only half-Quileute. Why did he imprint on her and I didn't?"

"Embry is a Protector?"

I gave a jerky nod.

"If he was blessed with the spirit of Q'wati, then he must have a pure heart and have done good deeds. Such a gift is not given without reason, regardless of lineage. He is of my blood, just as you are—and just as all others who have taken up the mantle of their spirit wolves have been. And if he is such a man to be worthy of becoming a Protector of this tribe, then he must also be worthy of a good and strong mate to love and support him."

Bella w_as_ good—I couldn't deny that. But it made me jealous as all hell that it was Embry and not me that she was going to focus that generosity and caring upon for the rest of her life.

"Take heed, Jacob Black. Go much farther on the path your feet are treading, and great pain and suffering will follow, just as others have suffered before you from listening to Raven's trickery."

"What do you mean?"

"Watch and see."

The world around me rippled and changed.

_**You will stay away from Bella!**_

_Whimper. A grey-black head lowering in helpless fury at an order than could not be contravened._

_Empty brown eyes._ _Ice white skin._

_Thin, skin and bones._

_Wind whipping through limp brown hair. Feet moving and a figure unseeingly approaching a cliff's edge._

_**NO! Bells, stop! NO!**_

_My words went unheard._

"_Why didn't you want me to be happy, Jake? I love you, Embry. Always. I'm sorry."_

_Step. Fall. No scream. Splash. Pounding waves and an insurmountable undertow. Silence. Peace. _

_A father's guttural screams of grief as his daughter's mangled form is pulled from the surf. "Why did she do it? Why did my baby girl jump?"_

_Sallow, once-tanned skin. Dead black eyes. _

"_Would I really have been so bad for Bella? I was better than Cullen-I wasn't a vampire, after all."_

_Madness. A challenge made that can't be won—and we both know it. A desperate suicidal move. Feint. Block. Charge. Teeth clamping down through gray-black fur. A wolf falling to the forest floor, unmoving. Howls of pain at a brother lost. _

_A mother's devastation at seeing her son's limp form. "How could you? Did my son deserve to die just for falling in love?"_

_I walked with a slow and halting gait through the rows of tombstones in the tribal cemetery until I reached my goal: a double headstone bearing the names 'Embry Joseph Call' and 'Isabella Marie Swan' and their dates of birth and death. At the bottom was the phrase, "Death cannot stop true love."_

"_I'm sorry," I spoke to the stone and to the air. "I was wrong. I cheated all of us, but especially the two of you, out of life." And I knew the words were true. No wedding ring had ever graced my hand. My life had been one lived alone, filled with loneliness and regret. It had been an empty existence, one devoid of forgiveness—because no one had had the right to grant it._

The nightmarish vision faded away, and I was back on the beach with Taha Aki. I fell to my knees and helplessly vomited the contents of my stomach—and maybe my entire stomach itself—onto the sand. This was like a horror movie version of "A Christmas Carol." At least Ebenezer Scrooge hadn't been a murderer. Taha Aki seemed to be telling me that I was on my way to becoming that terrible thing.

"This is what could happen-what **will** happen. Is this what you want, Jacob Black? Do you wish pain, suffering, and death to your friends? To their parents? Do you wish the suffering that other in your tribe have experienced to be visited upon yet another generation?"

"No! I don't want any of that!"

"Then why do you continue to try to fight what the spirits have decreed? Embry Call and Bella Swan are now bound together-nothing and no-one can undo that, save death. You feel you have been cheated? That a precious gift has been stolen from you?"

Well, damn, he'd picked up on my thoughts earlier in spite of my efforts.

"You desired without understanding. Yes, perhaps you and she would have been content together, and even happy, but deep down, there would always have been a note of dissatisfaction, a lack of something that could not be named, but only felt. You were denied an imprinting on this woman, because she was meant for your brother wolf. But there will be a woman for you, Jacob Black, if you prove yourself worthy of her, if you show that you are a man who is willing and able to accept such a responsibility and honor. Only you can decide if you will be that man. Decide. Let go of the spirit of Bayaq that has taken up residence in your heart and seek out Q'wati instead."

"How do I do that? How do I let go of all this anger? How do I keep them from dying?"

"You spoke words before, ones that summoned me to you. But you did not speak them with the right intent. Do so again, with sincerity, and heed the lessons that are presented to you."

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It was beyond disorienting to open my eyes and realize that I was still sitting on the beach in La Push and not on another planet. But the fact that I was in the real world again was confirmed by the almost instantaneous arrival of a blinding headache and churning stomach. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut again and tried to compel my guts to be still. Despite the fact that it was a warm summer day, a fine layer of icy sweat coated my skin. My eyes opened back up in a squint that gradually relaxed. I hadn't been able to keep them closed too long—I'd started seeing repeats of Bella's and Embry's deaths.

Staring out at the swirling ocean water, the waves breaking in small whitecaps near the shore, my breathing deepened and slowed. Gradually, I started to feel better; even though I hadn't actually vomited, my abs ached as if I had. Being confronted with my however-many-times-great-grandfather—and having a conversation with him, no less—had really shaken me, as had what I'd seen and heard. What was I supposed to do now? I couldn't answer that right now, but I wanted-needed-to. Sam had sent me out here to think, and thinking was what I would have to do.

So I did as he'd told me to and repeated Old Quil's prayer, with sincerity this time. The sounds of the surf and the birds overhead faded away, just as the view before me vanished as my eyelids drifted closed. In the quiet stillness voices began to echo in my head, almost like they did in the pack mind.

_"Jacob Black, if you're planning on saying anything like you did last night, about how it wasn't your fault, or you didn't want to do it, or how I have to forgive you, then please, save your breath and me the irritation. My answer is the same now as then: it was, you did, and I don't. All you're proving is that you still don't understand and that nothing has changed." Bella's tone was furious, even as she still stubbornly refused to look up at me._

"_Embry took Bella away_."

"_I think you did that yourself, Jake. I'm not saying that Sam's orders didn't contribute, but there was a lot that you could have handled better than you did."_

"_Like...?"_

"_You were seeing red pretty much anytime you talked to Bella. Nobody likes it when someone else gets in their face, and..."_

_And?_

"_Well, hasn't she kept saying that she didn't think you had the right to be mad at her? Hold on a sec-If you'd been furious about __**why**__ she was pissed off at you, then that would have been one thing, but you were telling her she didn't have any reason to be angry at all. And let's face it, she __**did **__have a reason. She got abandoned by someone else in her life, and then when you were able to even try explaining, you just seemed to expect that she'd forgive you automatically. She didn't-doesn't-know what we know, so she wasn't working from the same place that you were."_

"_So if I'd let her get everything out, and __**then**__ started to explain the reasons why...?"_

"_She probably wouldn't have been so mad at you. It wouldn't have changed anything, though. You still wouldn't have imprinted on her."_

I hated to admit it, but Quil had had a point. I _had_ been assuming that Bella would just forgive me without question, the way she always did with people. But this time had been different: she'd demanded explanations before even considering forgiveness, and I'd been insisting on forgiveness to clear the air before I explained anything. Had I been wrong? Had Bella? I was starting to realize that both of us had been right in how we thought. The problem was that we'd been working at cross-purposes the entire time, both of us getting more and more frustrated each time that the other didn't understand. Maybe a lot of this could have been prevented if one of us had been willing to be the bigger person and step back. I'd assumed that it would be Bella, like usual; I couldn't really blame her now for having gotten a backbone and refusing to be the one to give in for once.

_"First, you tell me, Bella: what made you make the choice to start dating one of my best friends when you knew-you had to know-how I felt about you, how I've always felt about you?"_

_"It's not about you, Jake. He liked me, I liked him; he asked me, I said yes. Just like practically every other couple on the planet who decide to start dating."_

_"So, what, it never meant anything? The connection we've always had?"_

_"You've been one of my best friends for a long time, Jake, but that's all you've ever been to me," Bella kept her gaze focused on the hands folded in her lap. "I'm thankful for how much you helped me this summer, and Quil, too. Embry just helped me more, and differently."_

_"How is it different?" I cried out. Bella finally looked upward then, meeting my eyes at last. I held my breath in anticipation of the gravity-altering shift of imprinting...only nothing happened beyond Bella's furious brown eyes boring into me._

_"I don't know how it's different, just that it is. It's not that one of you is better than the other, just that I feel that Embry is the right one for me."_

Compelled to watch a slideshow of our interactions, I was made to see that while Bella had been happy to see me and grateful for the things I'd done for her, she hadn't treated me any differently than she had Quil. Embry, though...right from the first day they'd met, he'd had some connection with her that I was only now seeing. The rescue, the eating contest... It was a hard thing to swallow: that I hadn't been wrong for Bella, just that Embry had been more right.

_"I might be the bastard technically, but you're the one who's acting like it, Jacob," Embry snarled, focusing on him and ignoring the others. "What the hell gives you the right to come over here-after weeks of ignoring me-and say something like that?"_

_"If it does turn out that Embry is my brother, then I'll welcome him gladly. Just as I'll expect anyone else to do if it ends up that they share that bond with him. The truth will come out—there's no logical reason why Tiffany would be so determined to keep Embry's paternity a secret if she doesn't know exactly who the man was. And I want you to think about that for just a minute, Jacob. Embry phased as a half-Quileute. I believe that Jared is right in what he said last night: this probably happened because Embry's connection to Taha Aki's line is a strong one—very likely because he's tied to the last wolf-pack in this tribe. That means that any of our fathers, plus a few other important men in the tribe, are the only reasonable candidates. So, if it isn't my dad or a brother of Harry or Sue Clearwater, then the man has been here the whole time and watched his son grow up without being claimed. Paul's dad has already sworn it wasn't him, but only time will tell about the others. How do you think your friend will feel when he finds out who it was? How would you feel?" _

_Sam fell silent and allowed me to do that thinking. I didn't have to imagine how either Embry or I would feel; I knew: anger, hurt, and rejection. Against my will, I began to feel shame and regret for the things I'd said._

And I still felt that shame. I'd known Embry practically from the time that we were born. Even if he hadn't said it more than a few times, I'd seen the looks he'd given my dad and Quil's and others: regret and envy for what we had that he didn't. I'd always known it bothered him at least subconsciously that he didn't even have a name for who it had been. And to now **know** that it had been someone local, maybe even someone who was still here today? For damn sure I'd chosen to use the worst weapon against him that I possibly could last night-and like Sam had said, it was only thanks to Bella that Embry hadn't torn me a new one over it.

"_We are a pack of six wolves, and we have to be able to get along and work together. Whether you like it or not-and I get that you don't like it-you are going to have to accept how things are now, just like you did when you phased, when your sisters left, when your mom died..."_

_"And what do I have to accept now?"_

_"Embry is part of this pack. I will not have my wolves fighting one another instead of our enemies. I don't want to have to keep laying Alpha orders on you, Jacob—but if that's the only thing that will keep the peace around here, I will do it. Doing and saying the things you have recently…cannot keep happening. Embry can no more help having an absent father than I can, or Quil. I would like for you to remember that you're almost an adult, and that you and Embry have been friends for most of your lives. You used to be a mature, responsible, and good person; be that person again."_

"_He took Bella away—"_

"_She was never yours to lose, Jacob. Bella is not your imprint. Nor was she your girlfriend."_

"_Then whose imprint is she? You said she'd be part of this."_

"_Embry imprinted on Bella last night." _

"_Why? Why him? Why not me?"_

"_Why didn't I imprint on Leah? Why did our great-grandfathers make a treaty with the Cullens instead of fighting them? I don't know, Jake. I wish I had the answers to everything, but I don't."_

"_Too bad you didn't figure that out back at the beginning of all this!"_

"_And I'll have to live with that, Jacob. If I could go back and change that first night's conversation between us, I'd do it. I deeply regret that I spoke without thinking and gave you that hope that wasn't meant to be."_

"_So, what? I'm just supposed to be happy for them now?"_

"_That would be the right and mature thing to do, Jake. This imprinting is a fact... Yes, Jake, it would be really nice for both Embry and for Bella if you can be accepting of this and even be happy for them. I haven't stopped caring about Leah, even though I don't have the right to after I broke her heart by imprinting. But I can be happy that she's getting the chance now to pursue her dreams, even though I'm not part of it anymore. Bella is still your friend, and I would hope that you could be pleased that she's found someone who will never break her heart the way that Cullen leech did, that she will always be cared for to the fullest extent that Embry can offer."_

Did I want Bella to hurt? No, absolutely not! I'd seen what damage that leech had done when he abandoned her, and then-like Quil had said-I'd done almost the same thing, even if I hadn't wanted to. And the vision I'd just had of both Embry and Bella dying because of me forcing them apart echoed in my mind again. Could I be grateful-happy might be too much of a stretch-that Embry had been there for Bella when I'd disappeared and kept her from going under again, had made her feel safe and loved, and able to love again? Did I have a choice? No matter how I felt about it, Embry had imprinted on Bella. And what the spirits had tied together, only death could separate.

"_I'm Alpha. When I give an order, you have to obey it."_

"_For now_."

"_What was that?_ _Jake?"_

"_I mean that you're only Alpha until I step up. Then the job's mine and __**I**__ make the rules."_

"A_nd you really think you're ready for that, __**Jacob**__? You're ready to take me on and fight me for the title? When I've been Alpha for two years, and you haven't been a wolf for much over two weeks?"_

"_What?_"

"_Just what it sounds like. The only way you're stepping up to Alpha is if you fight me for it. Because, let me tell you, __**pup**__: there's no way in hell that I'm just going to roll over and bare my throat to an immature child like the one you're showing yourself to be. You'll only get the title over my cold-or at least bleeding-corpse. So, __**stand down.**__"_

I knew I couldn't beat Sam—hell, I hadn't even been able to best Embry. But if I was honest about it, I couldn't blame Sam for that mess—I hadn't had any thoughts about becoming Alpha before my dad proclaimed it to be my destiny. Why had he done that? Old Quil's words echoed again: _"It is natural for parents to have dreams for their children. That is easy. It is much harder to let those dreams go, to accept that they will not happen. It was not Billy's destiny to become a wolf or Alpha."_

_"And my dad? Did he want this for me?"_

_"Did he want you to phase? No. But once it was clear that you would, he may well have hoped that you would rise to Ephraim's role eventually."_

Had my dad's certainty been such an ego-boost to me that I wouldn't always be at the bottom of the pack, that common sense had been obliterated? And had I really been willing to use that power—if I'd gained it—to punish Embry for having sex with Bella? Was that being her best friend?

"_What were you to Bella? How did she feel about you?"_

_"Best friends. She called me her 'sun' sometimes, 'cause I was so cheerful all the time." I almost couldn't remember being that person, like it had been in someone else's lifetime._

_"Perhaps that's what she needs you to be, rather than a life-mate. _

That wasn't what I'd wanted for us, but the past few weeks had been exercises in proving that what I wanted wasn't what I was going to get. If I was forced to choose between "friend" and "nothing" where Bella was concerned, wasn't friend better?

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Even though I'd spent almost the whole afternoon sitting, I felt exhausted. Soul-searching wasn't an easy thing to do. I dragged myself home and into the shower. As I watched the sand and dirt wash away down the drain, I wished that all my burdens could do the same.

Dad and I still weren't talking-or looking at each other if we could help it. Sam still hadn't lifted his order against me talking about stuff with my dad—and I didn't want to anyway. The last thing I wanted right now was for my dad to take a strip off me, too, or tell me how disappointed he was in me. So we ate an early dinner in silence, other than him telling me that a council meeting had been scheduled for tonight. The phone rang just as I set the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.

"Jacob, I would really appreciate it if you could go over and give Kim a lift to the council meeting. Jared's on patrol and won't be there. Kim wants to come but isn't up to driving herself over."

"My dad-"

"I'll pick him up. I need to run something by him before the meeting anyway," Sam said.

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Bella POV

I couldn't decide if my movie idea had been a good one or a bad one. It was good in the sense that Embry couldn't put the couch to a use that would horrify my dad, but bad in the sense that Embry couldn't put the couch to use the way part of me wanted him to. My mind might know that I needed time to recover from our sexual explorations of the past couple days, but my body was trying to convince me that it wasn't so important after all. Well, my body...and Embry. If I hadn't heard this morning about the enhanced senses that the wolf gave him, I would have thought that Embry didn't know what his seemingly unconscious touches were doing to me. However, I knew that he _did_ know just how much I was being affected. Fortunately for me, Jessica and Angela weren't so gifted and weren't picking up on it.

My eyes were fixed on the TV screen, but my mind was paying no attention at all to whatever movie the others had chosen. I used the time to get lost inside my head and think through everything I'd learned in the last day. The supernatural stuff I quickly dismissed. It didn't matter to me one bit that Embry could now turn into a wolf, any more than I'd objected to Edward and his family being vegetarian vampires.

I wasn't thrilled that Embry and I were going to be forced to spend time around Jake again. Everyone else seemed to have managed the transition from just human to werewolf without turning into a bitter jerk-everyone but Jake. It was hard to believe that he'd been so bad off right after phasing that just the idea that I was meant to be his had been the only thing that kept him from going crazy. I nearly shuddered at the thought that I could have been forced to shift from Embry to Jake by some mystical s-tuff whether or not I would have wanted it. I'd come to realize over this summer that my interest in Edward had been partly compelled by him. "_Everything about me is designed to draw you in,"_ he'd mentioned once; well, it would have been no different here, if I'd been pulled to Jacob when I wasn't interested in him romantically. Well, Embry had imprinted on me, so I didn't have to worry about Jake in that sense now. But there was plenty else about him that I was still concerned over. The things Jake had been saying to me and to Embry...it was like a complete stranger had taken over our friend's body. How in the world could either Embry or I be expected to spend time around him with how he was acting?

Something else that had me worked up was realizing that some man here had probably watched Embry grow up but hadn't been responsible or decent enough to claim him as a son. My heart had clenched earlier today to see—feel—how hurt and upset Embry was over this. I didn't think it was just the fact that he now knew his dad was—or at least had been—local that was responsible, but that his mom still wasn't telling him a name. I could understand Tiffany wanting to protect her son; after all, I felt exactly the same way. But one of the things I hated most was someone thinking that the best way to protect m_e_ was to keep me in ignorance, so I was totally on Embry's side when it came to his right to know who the other half of his genes came from, however painful the initial revelation might be.

I was also bothered—perhaps more than I wanted to admit—at the whole pack mind-sharing thing. What Embry and I had shared yesterday had been wonderful and incredible—and not meant for anyone else to know, let alone view. To know that the other guys in the pack had seen what we'd done—had seen _me_—I wasn't sure how to put that aside and ignore it the way the other girls had apparently learned to do. It didn't seem like I was going to have any other choice, though; either I got used to the voyeuristic aspects of the pack mind, or else I'd be going cold-turkey on a sex moratorium-and that was ludicrously impossible. Now that I knew with firsthand knowledge just what all the fuss about sex was, I knew it was something Embry and I would be doing again—and likely often. I'd just have to come up with something to stop any of the probable teasing or suggestive comments in their tracks. Hmm…

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Embry POV

It was probably a good thing that Bella had invited her friends over to watch a movie with us. If she hadn't...we'd probably have spent the afternoon in her bedroom, in her bed. And while that idea completely appealed to me, I couldn't forget what she had said about needing recovery time. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her in any way, and so I'd just have to keep my libido in check. Yet despite my vow, my hands kept wandering where they shouldn't. Sneaky though I tried to be, I couldn't keep from getting spotted forever. Bella's involuntary twitches finally caught Jessica's attention. I got a knowing look, raised eyebrow, and a smirk from her-but she didn't say anything out loud. She didn't have to, though-I had a pretty good idea what it would be: something along the lines of the "Bella sure as hell better be taking advantage of that," that she'd said back in the store. I delivered a sly glance and my own smirk then returned my attention to the movie.

The girls left after the movie, and Bella headed to the kitchen to start fixing dinner. "We'll have time to eat before the council meeting, right?"

Checking the clock, I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

As always, Bella's cooking was amazing. With my new appetite, I had to really force myself to leave enough food in the pan so that there would be something left for Charlie's dinner. I wanted to keep on his good side, and making sure he still got to eat some of Bella's cooking was high on the list of ways to do that.

On our way back to La Push, Bella asked, "What is the meeting going to be about?"

"No idea. All that the message said was where to go and when. Logically, though, part of it is probably going to be about us. Guess we'll find out when we get there." A glance over at my imprint showed that her fingers were twisting together from nerves. "Hey, don't worry. I mean, it can't be too bad, right?" Even though I'd said that, Bella wasn't the only one to take a deep breath once we arrived at our destination.

"I'm here, no matter what," she told me. I had to lean over and kiss her after that declaration. I meant it to be a light one, but the best of intentions... A thump on the roof of Bella's car broke us apart.

"Come on, lovebirds," Paul jibed. He just smirked when I gave him an irritated glare for his interruption. "The council meeting will start soon, and there're people you ought to meet first."

"Raincheck?" I asked Bella, leaning over to snag another kiss.

"Raincheck," she agreed. With that, I reluctantly let her go and got out of the car. The council meeting hadn't even started yet, and I was already ready for it to be over.

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AN: Information on Q'wati (also spelled K'wati, and other ways) the Transformer, and Bayaq/Bayak, the trickster Raven of Quileute legends, can be found at: .

Native American Prayer: .

"Death cannot stop true love" is a quote from the movie The Princess Bride.


	43. Ask and Receive

AN: I really hope that you enjoyed the last chapter, or at least can understand why it was necessary. I know it was almost all Jake, but he needed that time to change course, and I wanted to get it all done in one go. At least there was a little Embry and Bella at the end. While the reviews I did get were positive, it does make me wonder what most of you thought about it since this was one of the least-reviewed chapters in quite a while for this story.

The all mighty and powerfulM: I like "Princess Bride" also. The line I used just fit what I was going for. Thanks, I'm glad you liked the chapter. This one came a lot faster, in part because I shifted some stuff here that I'd originally written for the last chapter, but bumped back to this one-well, faster until the end of the chapter really made me work to get things just right.

Congrats to ASongbirdDigna for being review #1100 on FF.

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From last chapter (Embry POV):

_"Come on, lovebirds," Paul jibed. He just smirked when I gave him an irritated glare for his interruption. "The council meeting will start soon, and there're people you ought to meet first."_

_"Raincheck?" I asked Bella, leaning over to snag another kiss._

_"Raincheck," she agreed. With that, I reluctantly let her go and got out of the car. The council meeting hadn't even started yet, and I was already ready for it to be over._

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Embry POV

Inside, the room was partly filled with the parents of some of the pack members, and a table at the other end of the room had Billy Black, Sam Uley, and Harry and Sue Clearwater sitting behind it. Paul led us over to his parents, who he'd clearly taken after in looks.

"Mom, Dad, this is Embry and Bella. Guys, my parents: Caleb and Marisol Lahote."

We glanced at them and they did the same back at us.

"So you're the pair that's got this whole place stirred up like a beehive," Paul's mother said.

"Apparently," I replied. "But I could argue that the bees started it."

"Well, if bees started trying to sting me first without provocation, I don't think I'd feel any guilt about spraying or swatting them."

"I don't think I will, either," my agreement made her mouth lift in a smile that resembled Paul's smirk.

"You shouldn't," Paul's dad added. "The way some people around here have been acting...I say there's nothing wrong with standing up for yourself. Whoever didn't stick around for your mom and you was a fool of the first order." So reading between the lines it obviously wasn't him.

"His loss," I clipped the words short.

"Absolutely," grinned Marisol. "Hell, if you weren't imprinted and my son's age to boot, and if I wasn't married..." The unfinished sentence made my mouth drop open in shock; from the corner of my eye, I saw Paul's do likewise.

Bella snorted, making all of us look at her in question.

"Okay, Paul, yes: I absolutely can believe that your mom would buy you a pair of boxers with red and pink love hearts all over them. But, Marisol? Just so we're clear on this: the only person buying embarrassing boxers for Embry is going to be me, okay?" Bella had a smile on her face, but there was a subtle firmness to her warning that said she meant it. Somehow I really liked the idea of wearing something that Bella gave me; I liked even better the thought of her wearing something I gave-and getting her out of it.

"Absolutely. I like you, girl. Now, what was this about me buying Paul boxers with love hearts on them?"

Paul palmed his face with partially-feigned embarrassment when Bella related the story of his arrival at her front door last night.

"Hmm. Maybe I'll have to do it to maintain my new reputation."

"Mom!" Paul tried to look angry, but humor won out.

"Sweetie, I'm your mom. I _have_ to embarrass you sometimes-it's in the Parent Handbook. And it's hardly my fault if you gift-wrapped such a perfect opportunity for me."

"You just had to share that with my parents, did you?" Paul gave a mock scowl to Bella.

"Just returning the favor," she retorted.

"Hmm, sounds like another good story," Marisol smirked.

Rescuing their son—and the rest of us from a retelling of today's banana story, Caleb Lahote said, "Mari, looks like James and Laura want us now. Nice to meet you both," and with that Paul's dad guided his wife away.

"I thought you said your mom left when you were a kid, before you moved back here," I commented to Paul.

"Oops," he looked embarrassed. "Yeah, she did, but they ended up getting back together a year or so later. Reconciled and the whole bit. I even got a baby sister out of the deal."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella POV

"Good for them," I told Paul. Having grown up in a broken home like I had, I knew how rare it was for couples to reconcile after they split up. If I were a selfish person, I might be jealous, but that wasn't my style-and I knew both of my parents well enough to know that they were just too different in personality and what they wanted in life to have been able to stay married.

"Yeah. Part of it's a cultural thing: take your time finding the right person to marry, and if there are problems, you work on them, and others help you work on them, until they're fixed. Actually divorcing is kind of a last resort."

Quil walked in with his grandfather, then split off to approach Embry and me. After appraising the situation, Paul backed off to give us at least the semblance of a little privacy.

"Hey, guys," Quil said.

"Hi, Quil," I replied, seeing that Embry wasn't going to say anything just now.

"Congratulations," Quil directed his comment and eye contact at both of us.

"For what?" I asked.

His mouth opened, in what anyone could just tell would be an inappropriate comment; I could see Sam off to one side, gritting his teeth, and then opening his mouth to-. But Quil surprised everyone by answering with, "The whole dating and imprint thing. You both deserve this." Quil extended his hand toward Embry. My wolf looked at the hand for a minute and then slowly stretched out his own.

"Thanks." It didn't instantly fix the breach in their friendship, but it was a first step on the path toward that end, and I hoped that they'd be back to normal before long.

Naturally, though, the maturity couldn't last. "Maybe Sam'll put us on patrol together soon and we can catch up." Eyebrows wiggled suggestively. It was my turn to clench my teeth. I'd somehow forgotten this part of Quil's personality. Clearly, I'd need to deal with him like I had with Paul earlier.

Embry quashed his enthusiasm. "It's a small reservation-you probably know most of it already. And if you're referring to stuff that's none of your business, I've been ordered to keep a lid on all that."

Quil's disappointment was obvious. "Man! Hot girl, she cooks, is fine with everything-_and_ you get to keep it all to yourself? That is _so_ not fair!"

"Speak for yourself-I'm not complaining one bit," Embry shot back.

"You'd be crazy if you did," agreed Quil.

Even though I was the only one of us facing the doorway, both Embry and Quil stiffened up-though neither turned around. Through the small gap between their bodies, I saw a few more people come in. One was Jared's fiancee, Kim, who I'd met this morning. The other...was Jacob.

Quil spoke to fill the silence. "Hey, Bella, did you know we're cousins?"

"What?" I looked at him blankly. "Oh, sure. Of course. I noticed the family resemblance right off the bat." Clearly, he was trying to distract Embry from Jacob's arrival, and I was more than happy to play along.

"Ha ha. No, really. We are cousins. I'm not sure what kind, though. I was talking to Grandpa today, and he was telling me that his mom's name was Molly-Molly Swan. She was related to your dad somehow."

"Cousins," I tried the idea out. Both of my parents had been only children, so I'd never had the aunts, uncles, or cousins that most kids had. "That might be nice."

"Absolutely it will be. Pranks, gossip sessions-okay, okay," Quil cut off after Embry gave a little growl and bared his teeth for a second. "How about this? We do a trade: I got your back, you feed me. What'd ya say?"

Even though the food part of Quil's bargain offer had clearly been directed at me, the other part was just as obviously meant for Embry.

"We're supposed to have each other's backs, aren't we? Pack, and friends?"

"Yeah. Just figured I needed to lay it out there, after everything."

"Sure—to the back watching, anyway. You're on your own convincing Bella to feed you. Paul already tried…and failed, I think."

"You do get first dibs," I agreed. "But I'm sure I'll be helping Emily out with cooking, so Quil—and Paul—will get some then."

"Yum."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Narrator POV

"Embry, do you know where your mother is?" Sam asked, interrupting the reunited trio.

The wolf in question shrugged. "If she isn't here yet, then she's probably still at work. Sometimes she has to stay late if they get swamped or someone doesn't show up. I guess she'll get here when she can."

Sam nodded and returned to the other elders. After a brief discussion, Old Quil stood up and announced, "We will begin this council session of the Quileute tribe with other business while we await one last arrival. All present are thanked for their attendance at this late-scheduled meeting."

Anyone who hadn't been seated and attentive quickly got that way. Emily Uley slipped in at the last minute, looking frazzled, and took the seat beside Kim. Old Quil began by swiftly introducing everyone, for Bella's benefit rather than anyone else's. Then he continued, "We welcome for the first time new protector Embry Call, and his imprint Bella Swan."

"Sure you welcome me," Embry muttered in a low voice-but one that the room's acoustics let even the non-wolves hear clearly. "That explains all the looks I get around here like I'm a male version of Typhoid Mary."

"Embry, any man would be proud to have you as a son," Jared's father said.

"Except-clearly-the man involved. Seventeen years of silence is a _real_ show of pride. More likely I'm the shameful secret he wanted to ignore completely." Bella reached over and laid her hand on top of his. Embry fell silent.

Sam spoke. "Embry, I promised you that we'd do whatever is possible to get you the answer. Process of elimination is one way. Joshua hasn't been here in years, and we don't know where he is to ask him. No way to really know for sure, but he abandoned Mom and me, so he could easily have done it twice. Harry, have you or Sue been able to reach your brothers yet?" Both shook their heads. "Okay, so we've got three possibilities there."

"Not that I would have minded another son," Caleb Lahote commented, "but I've already told Embry that it wasn't me. I wasn't around here much at all before Paul and I moved back eight years ago, and I haven't been up to Neah Bay at all."

"It wasn't me, either," James Cameron said. "I may end up in the doghouse with Laura because of this, but a part of me wishes I could say you were mine-you're a fine young man, Embry-but it didn't happen." His wife gave him a look but didn't say anything.

"Agreed on both counts," Harry Clearwater added.

"Way to narrow this down," muttered Embry to Sam.

"You now know three men who it _wasn't_," Sam noted. "That's three more than you had before. I meant what I said before-but realistically, that's going to have to come from your mom."

"Then we will let this matter rest for the moment. There is no point in continuing to beat a dead whale," Billy spoke in a deep voice.

Harry Clearwater took over then. "This council has a serious matter to address. As Alpha Uley informed us last night, pack member Jacob Black violated the trust and responsibility placed upon him as a member of this tribe's protectors: he phased in front of someone presumed to be human-Embry Call-and then attacked him. It was only through the blessing of the spirits that Embry was also able to phase and defend himself until the Alpha could separate them."

Billy Black sat back and merely watched. The other elders were taking the lead in this matter-it having been deemed best to not have the chief of the tribe passing judgment upon his own son.

Harry looked over the assembly. "Jacob Black, step forward."

Jacob rose from his spot in the back row and silently walked up the aisle between the rows of chairs until he was standing in front of the council table.

"Jacob, do you disagree with the Alpha's report on your actions of last night?"

He was silent for a moment, throat working. "No. I did phase and attack Embry."

"Why did this happen?" Everyone already knew, but Jacob needed to say it aloud.

"I found out how close he and Bella had gotten and it made me angry. I-believed she was meant to be mine, and that he had stolen that away from me."

"Was she?"

Jacob's head lowered. "No, I didn't imprint on Bella."

"Then why did you choose to attack Embry?"

"I don't know that I did choose, exactly. It was all a haze. I knew that I wanted to confront him, to hear him say why he'd done it all. And then when he wasn't sorry about any of it...I guess I snapped."

"Even not choosing to do something is itself a choice," Sam countered. "But I think that most rational people looking at this situation would say that you did choose in this case. You chose to embrace your anger when what you wanted was denied to you. You chose to give into that anger in the presence of innocents. Did you consider at all what kind of damage control would have needed to be done if Embry hadn't turned out to be a wolf as well, or if Bella had not been his imprint? How badly hurt—even killed—either or both of them could have ended up?"

"No, I didn't."

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Jacob?" Sue asked.

"I'm sorry. The things I said...The things I did...I was wrong. I hope that my friends can forgive me for everything."

"What kind of a lame-ass apology is that? 'I'm sorry', 'I was wrong', and everything's supposed to be okay now?" Embry's tone was derisive. "Two-three-weeks ago, yeah, maybe that would have done it. But now? You tried to kill me! And let's not forget you almost phasing in Bella's living room before that."

"But I didn't do it."

"You would have if Paul and Quil hadn't been there. You could have hurt her!"

"She was fine."

"I was scared," Bella cut in. "You really frightened me. I'd never thought I'd say that about you, Jacob, but you were scary."

"Bells-"

She kept talking as if Jake hadn't spoken. "Embry's right: this isn't a very good apology, and even if it were...sometimes apologies aren't enough. The words you spoke can't be unsaid, any more than what you did can be undone. What you directed at me was bad enough, but Embry... For goodness' sake, Jake, he's been one of your best friends practically from birth. All that history, and you could say that stuff to him? About him? I don't even feel like I know you anymore."

"I'm still me, Bells. I was wrong-I get that now. But I'd had Sam and everyone else feeding me the hope from day one that you were meant to be with me. And then when it didn't happen...I was pissed-and hurt. I guess it was easier to subconsciously blame Embry than-"

"Damn it, Jake," Bella forgot where she was at and the audience listening in. "It wasn't a contest, and I wasn't a prize. I didn't choose Embry over you; I just chose him, simple as that. If the spirits thought that he and I were a perfect match...well, I can't argue with what I believed myself. I didn't see you that way, Jacob, and to think that I could have been forced into it... I only ever wanted you as a friend, but now I don't even know if that is possible. I'm not usually one to hold grudges-this time might be the exception to that rule. Everything that's happened can't be erased with a simple apology or one of your grins. I'm sorry if that sounds mean...or maybe I'm not sorry. I don't know."

When she ran out of steam, Sam spoke, "Embry and Bella, no one will argue that you both have been deeply hurt by Jacob. I acknowledge my own role in these events, in forcing Jacob to distance himself from you both after he first phased. If I'd known what would happen as a result...well, hindsight is always 20/20. I can only say that I'm sorry for what my orders let happen," Sam inclined his head to the couple, who looked at each other and nodded back. To the others in the room, the Alpha said, "They are both correct: while the apologies just delivered are a necessary first step, they are not the only things to be done. I will be willing to sit down with you both to discuss this matter further and to consider more tangible ways through which Jacob can express his remorse. Tiffany Call was also wronged by things that Jacob said-things that should be said to no woman, ever, no matter what. For those, members of the council will meet with Tiffany, and she will have a say in what amends Jacob will make to her."

Old Quil continued after Sam stopped, "And the tribe is to be compensated as well. Our heritage is a proud one, and the attempt by this protector to use what the spirits gave him against another person-a defenseless innocent-must be addressed. The tribe's elders will consider what needs exist that Jacob will work to resolve."

A stir at the back of the room brought heads around. Tiffany Call stepped into the room, but came up short at being the center of attention. "Sorry I'm late," she said, and headed toward her son. He and Bella scooted down the bench to make room for her.

"We understand," Sue replied to Embry's mom. "Thank you for coming. The parents of pack members are often invited to council meetings when items of business concern the pack or their imprints. Tonight, both are involved."

"And what is it about my son and his girlfriend that the council needs to address?"

"Introductions needed to be made, especially for Bella, and a formal welcome given to both of them."

"And that needed a formal meeting of the full council?"

"There were other reasons," Sam conceded.

Tiffany waited in obvious invitation for Sam to elaborate on what those reasons were. When he didn't do so immediately, she put out her own question.

"Does this council plan to address how Jacob Black has been treating my son?"

"Mom!"

"You're my son, and no matter how old you are I won't just stand by and let someone who used to be your friend stab you in the back. I'm not a fool, Embry. I know you gave me a pretty sanitized version of whatever he dealt out to you."

"Jacob Black has recognized the error of his recent ways and begun the process of making amends to those he has wronged. Apologies have been offered to Embry and Bella, and will be offered to others deserving of them," Old Quil informed her.

Proving true her words about not being a fool, Tiffany put two and two together. "And I'm one?"

Embry growled low in his throat, making his mom look over at him in surprise.

"Perhaps that might be best shared privately later on?" a woman sitting on the other side of the aisle suggested.

Sam nodded. "I would agree, Mom. While Jacob's apologies and amends do need to be done publically, I don't think it would be best to have the exact slurs repeated here. Enough people know what Jacob said as it is, and the last thing Embry needs is to hear it all again."

"I hear it all just fine anytime I look at him, Sam," Embry retorted. "Think having it all in my brain is worse than just having it in my ears. And it's not like I'm going to forget what _he_ said, no matter what is or isn't said or done."

"What was it?" Tiffany addressed Embry, lightly reaching out to touch his arm and maintaining the contact until he looked down at her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella POV

"I don't want to say. The sanitized version was bad enough. You don't need to hear it all." Even though I knew Embry had to be a little mad at his mom for keeping silent on the whole dad issue, it was plain to me that he loved her deeply in spite of it and didn't want her to be hurt. But at the same time, it also _really_ made me want to get those steel-toed boots from Newton's and plant a football kick between Jacob's legs. Whatever Embry wasn't wanting to say had to be really bad.

"Thank you for trying to protect me, sweetheart, but you don't need to do that."

"And you don't need to try and protect me, either, but here we are."

"I'm your mother, Embry. I'm supposed to protect you."

"And I've been the man of the house since the first time I was carried through it. How is that any different?"

"The difference is that you only _think_ I'll be upset by anything you might tell me; I _know_ you'll be hurt if I do the same."

"But why should I say the words when everything about how you're acting about this proves that it can't be true?"

"Because trying to keep something secret when a lot of other people know it never works for very long," Paul commented quietly from his spot on the other side of me. "Someone _always_ assumes that the person knows and says something and then it all comes out and is way worse than if the person had just been told to begin with."

"Really?" Embry turned on him, venting frustration. "And would _you_ want to tell your mom that one of your childhood best friends accused her of not telling you about your dad because she _couldn't_?" The words left a thunderous silence in their wake as the obvious implication registered with everyone.

"You said _what_ about his mom?!" Quil's dumbfounded voice carried across the room. "What the fuck, Jake?" Before anyone could blink, a few long strides had him barreling into Jacob, sending both of them to the floor, where Jacob's head slammed hard against the tiles. "You jerk. You low-life. You ba—" Quil broke off his last pejorative even as he continued to punch any part of his friend that he could reach. It wasn't hard to guess what word Quil had been about to say and why he'd changed his mind. Having been raised by his own mom—and grandfather—after his father's death, Quil was naturally going to be more sensitive than most to such an insult against another person's mom.

In one of those impossible to follow moves that seemed typical of supernatural creatures, Sam vaulted the table he'd been sitting behind and lifted Quil off Jacob and into the air, then set him down several feet away.

"Enough, Quil. Enough. **Stand down**."

I could almost feel the weight of the order keeping Quil in place and away from Jacob.

"We will take a short recess," Old Quil announced. Sue Clearwater went into a back room and returned with a small first aid kit. She knelt down next to Jacob and started looking him over. Quil was drawn aside by his grandfather. I wrapped myself around Embry's side and rested my head on his shoulder blade; he was bent over, muscles were tense under the skin, and head buried in his hands.

"I'd rather do anything else," Paul answered the question of Embry's that had started the fight. He shifted to crouch on the floor in front of us. "Probably I'd do anything I could to avoid doing it—or at least, that's what I'd mean to do. Odds are, though…"

"You'd be as much of an idiotic asshole as I just was?" muttered Embry.

Paul shrugged.

Tiffany placed her hand on Embry's back and ran it up until she was stroking his hair. "It isn't true," she told him.

"And I told you already that I knew that. I just can't understand why won't you tell me."

"We've talked about this before. It won't be the magic fix that anyone here seems to think it will."

And there really wasn't anything that could be said to that. I wasn't sure if it made it better or worse to have open confirmation that Tiffany _could_ give Embry the answer he needed and was choosing not to. But knowing that Jacob had insulted Embry's mom by saying what he had…oh, I really wanted those steel-toed boots.

A few minutes later, everyone drifted back into place and the meeting resumed. You couldn't even tell now that Jacob and Quil had been fighting since there wasn't a mark on them anymore. By unspoken consent—or so I thought; maybe there had been some council discussion that I'd missed—the previous line of discussion was dropped.

"The pack met with Embry and Bella this morning to offer more information on what has happened and what it all means, and to answer whatever questions they'd thought of. We want to give you that same opportunity. Now that you've had a chance to absorb things, do you have any questions for us?" Sam addressed Tiffany. I guess I somehow hadn't thought of it before, but I appreciated that someone had thought to do for Embry's mom what they'd done for us.

"What does this tribe do to help those who are 'blessed' with becoming Protectors?"

"Help?"

"Who gives them advice? Do they have a mentor they can turn to? Are they paid for the work they do-those 'patrols'?"

"As Alpha, it's my responsibility to look out for my pack. They know that my door is always open to them if they need to talk or anything else—and the same is true for the tribe's other elders as well. But I do try to watch out for any potential problems and help deal with them before they turn into major catastrophes," Sam replied. "Members of the pack can also turn to their parents. I'd been thinking about it from the time of my first phase, but after Jared joined me, I fought the council for-and won-the agreement that the parents of pack members would be informed of what was going on in their sons' lives-both for safety's sake, and because I didn't want any of us having to lie to our families about where and on what we spent our time."

"Do you have any other questions, Tiffany?" asked Harry Clearwater.

"When does this end?"

"Only the spirits know," Old Quil's answer wasn't to her liking, it was clear. He continued, "I saw my father phase a number of times, and even Billy was old enough-though still a child-to see his grandfather Ephraim phase for the last time with his pack as very old men."

"So this could go on for…" her voice trailed off.

"For as long as the tribe is in danger."

Tiffany's eyes closed and her hands clenched. I couldn't blame her. Embry—the others—could be forced to stay in this life…forever? The Cullens had lived here twice, and James's coven had come through the area, too.

Sam added, "But those circumstances have been rare. The more likely outcome is that when the danger is gone-consistently gone-then discussions can be held among the pack about some or all members stepping down from that role."

"So my son's life could be put on hold for years—that's what you're saying. Embry is supposed to focus on others at the expense of what he might want and need."

Billy's deep voice spoke, "Those who take up this mantle are destined to do so. Yes, it can be a burden, and that is not ignored. We are a small tribe, and so what we can do is limited, but we do try to support our protectors however we can, including a small stipend when possible."

"Charity," Tiffany snorted. "They risk their lives for you and have to take handouts for it into the bargain? Are they not allowed to take outside jobs?"

"It's not prohibited," Sam cut in. "But realistically, those who are still in school only have time for that and their patrols. Once they graduate, like Jared and I, then jobs in or close to La Push can take up the time school once did. It's not perfect, I'll grant you that. But it's the best we can manage. We have to maintain patrols to ensure this area and its people are protected. No one wants to see any of these boys drop out of school, either. So this is what we've come up with."

Yet again the discussion had devolved into a circular argument that didn't seem to have an end. Would yet another course correction work, or just create more frustration? Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"This is changing the subject, but I have a question."

My words brought almost instant silence and made me the focus of everyone's attention.

"Go ahead, Bella," Sue replied warmly.

"Jacob said that Sam told him…" I trailed off, knowing what I wanted to ask but not having the words come out right. "Why would he think…?"

Sam met my gaze and I could only hope that he'd figured out what I was trying to convey.

"The night that we—Jared, Paul, and I—found you in the woods, we all felt… It was how Jared and Paul feel about Emily, how Paul and I feel toward Kim. The sense that you were—would be—connected to us in the same way: an imprint. How we didn't know, since it wasn't Paul. Then there was Jacob's visit to you in the hospital, and how you woke up when he said you needed to, and later on how much you seemed to improve from spending time with him and his friends. When we started seeing the signs that Jacob was going to phase, it all seemed to make sense. It all came together in an assumption that I shared with Jacob the day that he and Quil first phased. Jacob was completely out of control, and the mere mention of you calmed him down a lot. I didn't think about Quil until Joy brought it up, but he saw you and Embry at the beach one day and didn't imprint, so that just reinforced the idea that it had to be Jacob. No one had any clue at all about Embry until that exploded in our faces."

I could follow the chain of logic, mistaken though it had been. I still didn't grasp the whole 'why' of it all.

"But why did it happen like it did? You weren't with Emily before the imprint happened, so why is it different for Embry and me? And I'm clearly not native, like Emily and Kim are. Wouldn't that be a requirement or something?"

Quil's grandfather answered me. "We do not know what the spirits consider when selecting an imprinted mate for one of our protector wolves. We know only that she is what the wolf needs, and the wolf is what she needs. Yes, it is unusual for an imprint to not be a member of a tribe, but it is not unheard of: my mother was white, and the imprint of my father."

"What is the problem with my son? Everyone was content to live and let live while he was growing up. Then he got dropped by Jacob and Quil for no apparent reason. They didn't want him around them anymore-and they didn't want him spending time with Bella, either. And then all the looks and whispers started, about how he'd stolen Jacob's girl away, or was an outsider. And now that he's one of you...it hasn't stopped, from what I can see. You still want proof that he belongs here-as if him turning into a wolf wasn't enough. Why should he be stuck here protecting people that don't want him around? Why does my son get to have his future stolen away from him?"

"It isn't being stolen, Mom—not the important stuff. I've found my soulmate, and it isn't like I won't still be able to do things. Sam's already said that I can still do the classes up in Forks with Bella this year like I'd planned. And he just said it's important for everyone to stay in school and to graduate, so it's not like I'd be missing a ton of school or slacking off on homework for pack stuff," Embry said.

"And next year? When you and Bella can't go away to college? Don't try to tell me things aren't being stolen from you! How can you start a life with her when neither of you can get the education and job you deserve and will need?"

I inhaled sharply. Nowhere in anything that the pack had told Embry and me this morning had there been anything included about us not being able to go to college. Granted, I hadn't made any firm plans yet, but I'd certainly been thinking about possibilities to send applications to.

"Staying here doesn't mean they both can't attend college classes," Harry noted.

"So says the man whose daughter just got to leave this one and a half square mile spot on the earth," scoffed Tiffany.

"What if the degrees we want aren't offered here?" I blurted out.

"I don't know," Sam sighed. "This is the first time where anything like this has been an issue for a pack. I hope that it will only be a temporary issue-for all of us. I had to forfeit a college scholarship when I phased, so believe me when I say that I know this life is a sacrifice. But it's also one that we don't have a choice about at the moment. Each of us was chosen for this, and all we can do is make the best of it."

"Chosen? Embry and I didn't choose this," denied Tiffany.

"The moment you had a relationship with a member of this tribe, this outcome was always a possibility for any son you bore. The truth needs to be told, Tiffany. Everyone—and especially Embry—is entitled to know how this came to pass. You need to identify his father."

"I need to look out for my son. _That's _what I need to do. My private business isn't the concern of anyone here."

"Embry phasing _made_ it our concern. He's directly connected to one family here, and all of us—him most of all-deserve to know which it is, to know who among us might have a brother or a cousin."

"And what about me? Do I deserve to have my personal life put out on display like laundry on a clothesline? Everyone was perfectly content to respect my privacy starting with the day I moved here—until now. Am I to have the years I've spent raising my son alone be rewarded by having our names dragged through the mud?"

"No, you don't deserve any of that," agreed Sue. "You're absolutely right that Embry did not earn the talk that has circulated around here lately, regardless of what was believed at the time about Jacob and Bella. The council was wrong in not addressing that issue at the start."

"Agreed," Old Quil nodded. "But to establish your son's place among us as it ought to be, you need to tell us the father's name. Idle gossip can only be thwarted by the truth."

"And who will that benefit? Not me. And certainly not Embry."

"He is no longer a child—"

The sentence wasn't even completed before Tiffany volleyed back, "I told you this not too long ago: _my_ son is not _your_ concern."

I gasped, only just barely registering the instantly stiffened body of Sam Uley, but not knowing or caring what was going on with him. Maybe it had just been my imagination, but I'd swear that there had been the slightest hint of emphasis on the words 'my' and 'your'. Those incredible instincts I had for figuring things out from small and fragmentary clues flared up full force in my mind. All the little threads of the past month or so wove together to reveal a picture-one that would devastate my Embry as soon as he realized it-which he very quickly did. It really was true that my face was a dead giveaway to whatever I was thinking or feeling. It was all almost too obvious. As she'd all but admitted a few minutes ago, Tiffany knew who Embry's father was—which explained why she was trying so hard to keep the name a secret. And with what she'd been saying to Embry about him only getting hurt if he found out, the man was surely still here and alive—which let out Quil's deceased father. If they now knew it wasn't Harry Clearwater or either Jared's dad or Paul's…that really left only one person for it to be. Embry looked at me intently and must have seen the new awareness in my eyes. His own flared wide as he put it all together and a little ring of gold started to glow around the edges of his black irises.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Narrator POV

The newest of La Push's wolves stood up and started pacing forward with fluid lupine grace toward the table where the elders sat.

"Embry, what are you doing?" But Sam's words were not heard or responded to as the one to whom they were addressed moved single-mindedly to his destination.

Reaching his goal, Embry laid both hands flat on the table and leaned down. "_You're_ the bastard," he snarled into the face of Billy Black, then straightened back up, spun around, and stalked out. Bella dashed after him-the only person in the room whose head didn't whip around to stare at the object of Embry's venomous statement.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AN: So now you know. Congrats to everyone (and there were a number of you) who guessed right on the dad's identity during the buildup to this chapter. Love it/hate it: either way, I'd love to know what you think. I'm happy to explain my thought process for how I made this decision.

I really hope this chapter came out alright. This meeting gave met fits for days, and a tiny part of me still isn't sure if it works or is a hot mess. But I think I've agonized about it as long as I can (and forfeited enough sleep), so I'm now putting it into the hands of my devoted readers.

The Native American marriage/divorce info Paul shared came from the website.

I'm happy/thrilled to announce that "Jagged Edges Heal" has been nominated for a Non-Canon award for Best Romance and my first story, "The Wolf and His Girl" is nominated for Best Royal Fic. . /


	44. Devastation

The all mighty and powerfulM: Yeah, I guess that Billy's silence did speak volumes. We'll see in this chapter how both Embry and Jake react to this revelation of their true relationship.

Congrats to sayit3xs for being review #1150 for the story.

AN: I am thrilled and humbled that "Jagged Edges Heal" won gold in the Best Romance category in the Non-Canon Awards. Thanks to everyone for the nomination and the win. I'm sorry this took longer than I hoped it would to get finished and posted. Some writer's block, me fighting a section, and just being insanely busy in the evenings after work lately all combined to delay this. Hopefully this really long chapter will be worth the wait.

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Narrator POV

The utter silence that enveloped the Quileute tribe's council room after Embry's harsh words and sudden exit was probably best comparable to the immediate aftermath of a nuclear blast. There was absolutely no sound or motion for the equivalent of several long heartbeats (though whether any hearts actually did so was open to question). Then-

"What the hell?"

"No way!"

"Impossible."

"Fuck, no."

"Damn you. Damn you all," Tiffany gasped out, before turning and fleeing from the room.

"**Enough!**" Sam shouted, bringing silence to the room in a rush.

"Sam, what did you react to?" Old Quil asked.

For a few moments, it wasn't apparent whether the Alpha's words were in response to the elder's question or if they were just vocalizations of his private thoughts. "I almost thought there was something going on that day, some unspoken subtext to their conversation, but I wasn't positive-even if I had I wouldn't have guessed this, that's for sure." Sam scrubbed his hands over his face and then related the encounter he and Jared had witnessed between Billy and Tiffany several weeks earlier at the Cameron's store. "It seems now that she had a good idea why he was interfering with Embry and Bella's relationship, and was telling him he had no right to do or say anything about it."

"Dad?" Jake's voice cracked. "Tell me it's not true, what Embry said-what Sam means." Billy's face was a stone carving. "Damn it!" shouted Jake. "Is Embry your son, too?" When his father still didn't answer, Jacob screamed in helpless fury and dashed outside, kicking off his shoes on the way.

"Forest!" Sam shouted behind him. Moments later, a low, pained howl wafted in on the night breeze.

Before anyone could do or say anything, Quil bolted after Jacob. "Jake!" he called out.

"Quil!" Joy's cry of her son's name went unheard.

"Let him go," Old Quil told his daughter-in-law. "Jacob will have need of his friend now."

Sam stood and looked out over the assembly. "Everyone ought to go home." He glared down the few attempts at protest.

"Sam, what about Jared? You want me to phase in and tell him and take over running?" asked Paul.

"No, you can head on home. I'm betting that Quil phased too, and not just Jake, so Jared probably knows everything by now. I'll take Billy home and then check in with them. If Quil and Jake are up to it, then they can take over on patrol tonight. If not-and it'll honestly probably end up this way-I'll run the circuit now, and then you can take over in the morning with Embry."

Paul nodded and headed for the exit with his parents.

"Go check in with them, Sam," Harry told him. "Sue and I will get Billy home, Alpha, while you take care of your pack." Then, recognizing that his words came perilously close to sounding like he was ordering the Alpha wolf, the councilor continued, "It just seems that you are needed there more than acting as a chauffeur. We cannot help the pack just now, but we can help you by doing this and freeing you to see to this other need."

Sam nodded, pausing only briefly to kiss his wife before heading outside after his wolves.

Behind him, the assemblage began breaking up into smaller groups. Despite Sam's quasi-order, discussion continued for a while longer and glances were cast in many directions. Eventually, though, they all headed for home.

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Jake POV

I phased in a violent explosion that cost me one of my few remaining sets of clothes; I didn't—couldn't—care about that now. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered. I tore through the forest like a sprinter at the Olympics.

_Jake! _I felt Quil phase in and saw through his eyes that he was racing to try and catch up with me. Not that he had a chance if I didn't want him to.

_Leave me the hell alone, Quil._

_Not gonna happen, bro._ Somehow, though, knowing he wasn't going to give up helped, at least a little bit.

_Bro?!_ And it all came boiling up like a tsunami from the depths of my mind. Miles away from us physically, Jared was still nearly bowled over by the flood of my thoughts and emotions.

_Oh, shit,_ he breathed. _Man-_ but there really wasn't anything Jared could say. The council meeting played out in full-screen multi-camera Technicolor from both me and Quil. At the end, prompted by the recollection of Sam's words, Jared gave us a view of the encounter between Tiffany and Billy in his family's store.

(flashback)

"… Embry is good for her, Billy, just as Bella is good for him. If Jacob is truly their friend, then he should be happy for them."

"Happy that his friend stole-"

"Embry stole _nothing_. Bella was Jacob's friend the same as Embry's and Quil's. If Jacob _had_ been dating her and Embry cut in, then yes, your son would have a reason to be upset. But Embry didn't do that. He asked, and Bella used her freedom of choice to say yes. She's a living breathing girl, not an inanimate toy for a pair of dogs to fight over."

"They are going to get hurt."

"I happen to disagree. Your 'concern' does you credit, but neither Embry nor Bella are your responsibility. Embry will do everything he can to make Bella happy, which should please a lifelong friend of her father. Now, if you'll excuse me, my son and I have been invited over to dinner at his girlfriend's house tonight."

(end flashback)

With context, and the fact that we were looking for it, it was easy for us to see the unspoken subtext in the recalled conversation.

_They were having a conversation on two separate levels, and they both knew it_, Jared thought. _And both understood it. I mean, we were figuring that Tiffany had to know for sure who her son's father had been, or she wouldn't have been trying to so hard not to reveal the name. But..._ he trailed off.

_My dad knew_, I forced the words out, acid roiling in my gut. _He knew he had another son! He knew one of my best friends was my brother, too!_

_It looks that way,_ Jared agreed, sympathy evident.

A shimmer heralded Sam's entry into the pack mind. _Jacob?_

_Leave me alone, Sam. You want to yell at me for something else…just take a number. I can't deal with it right now._

_I'm sorry. I wish-for everyone's sake, but especially yours-that things hadn't turned out this way. I'd hoped it would end up being Joshua—or anyone other than this. Sorry, guys_—that clearly to Jared and Quil.

_Well, it wasn't._

Sam didn't reply to me. Instead, he 'looked' toward Jared. _I think your parents are giving Kim a ride home. You can phase out and head back._

_Sure thing, Sam. Who's taking over?_

Sam didn't even need to consider the question. _I will. I know Jacob isn't up to it—and I'm not asking it, either. Paul's going to take the morning shift tomorrow with Embry. Jake and Quil, you're off until tomorrow afternoon._

_I can't go home now_. A nightmare scenario of losing control around my dad crossed my mind. No matter how much part of me might think he deserved it—for this shit-can of poisonous snakes that had just been opened—he was still my dad. _I just need to run. Run._ It was probably insane to think that running would solve anything or wipe away what had been learned tonight, but I couldn't stop myself.

_Run then. Don't worry about anything else tonight. Quil…_

_I'll stay with him._

I took off-using most of my speed, but not so much that Quil couldn't keep up. He didn't say anything—in fact, he tried to keep his mind quiet and just watched the forest blur past.

My mind, on the other hand, was constantly whirling. Each landing of my paws against the ground sent a new thought hurtling into and through my brain in an endless cycle.

_He's my brother. Embry's my brother. Dad cheated. How? Why? Did Mom know? Embry's my brother. I hurt him. He's my brother. Why?_

I just ran and ran, trying to leave the thoughts behind.

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Embry POV

I strode out of the council meeting, anger rolling through my entire body. Walking away from Billy Black had taken every last ounce of willpower that I possessed. All that either me or my wolf wanted to do was rip that man-my _father_-to shreds.

"Embry!" Bella's voice called behind me, accompanied by the slapping of her shoes against the ground. "Embry, wait!" Even though I wanted to keep going, I slowed and then stopped, waiting for her to catch up. Bella moved until she was in front of me, and then wrapped her arms around my waist. "Talk to me," she begged.

"About what?" I growled. Hopefully, she'd understand that I wasn't angry at _her_, just at this fucked up mess I'd just landed in.

Bella looked up at me, a riot of emotions on her face and in her eyes. "_I'm here for you!_" this incredible young woman, who the gods had decided was meant for me, whispered fiercely. "_No matter what!_ How can I help you now?"

"I've got to get out of here," I muttered. Maybe being somewhere else would help me to clear my head—or at least keep me from committing parricide.

"Okay, then let's go. We'll just get in my car and go wherever you want."

"Out of La Push."

"That's fine. My place?"

I nodded curtly.

"Do you need to grab anything before we go? My dad's clothes were tight on you before-they wouldn't have a chance of fitting now. I don't think that seersucker pants would be a good look on you, so should we swing by your house for a change of clothes?" Bella was talking a lot, but it filled the air and doing it to try and distract me from the bombshell that had just landed.

"Okay."

She kept both hands on the wheel as she drove, though I could tell-sense-feel that she wanted to reach one over to touch me.

"I'll be right back," I told her, when she'd pulled her car up in front of my house. Bella just nodded and didn't move to get out. I moved fast, grabbing a bag and tossing in an assortment of clothes and toiletries. I was as good as my word, shutting my front door just a couple minutes later. Sliding back into the car, I swung the bag around to land on the back seat.

"Ready?" Bella asked, and at my nod got the car moving toward Forks.

I was more grateful than ever that Bella wasn't the sort of girl who had to talk all the time—she was perfectly content to let silence reign when there wasn't anything that needed to be said. At the moment, there was likely a lot that _needed_ to be discussed, but I wasn't up for that and Bella knew it. All my concentration was focused on keeping myself under control and not bailing from the car to go…somewhere. Part of the way through the trip, she took her right hand off the steering wheel and stretched it toward me. Aware that we both needed the contact, I wrapped my much larger hand around hers and squeezed lightly, then let our joined hands rest on the center console between us. We stayed this way until Bella needed her hand back to turn the car into her driveway. Somewhere over the course of the half-hour drive between our houses, my anger had seeped away, leaving…nothing... in its wake. Nothing, except for a nightmare. The man who was the father of one of my childhood best friends, the man who'd welcomed me into his family's home constantly, who'd taught me to fish and shave—that man had fathered me and never said a word about it. Why?

Had he known about me the whole time? What had he said or thought when Mom had told him? Had he kept her on a line promising a future together? Had Mom decided to stay here to force him to face me and what he'd done every day? What was I supposed to do now? How was I supposed to act toward him? Toward my mom? How did I _want _to act? I'd sworn I wanted to know the truth about my origin, but it was becoming apparent that I wasn't quite as prepared for the result as I'd thought.

"I love you," Bella finally spoke, pulling me out of the downward spiral of my thoughts. "Truly, madly, and deeply-just like the song."

I squeezed her hand tighter, putting everything I couldn't say into that gesture. For all that we'd only known each for a few months and only been dating for a few weeks…even before I'd imprinted on her she'd been as essential to me as breathing. No matter how my life was going to hell otherwise, I could never forget how important she was to me. Then I let go so that we could head inside.

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Narrator POV

Charlie heard the front door open and close.

"That you, Bells?"

"Yeah, it's us," she replied.

The 'us' brought Charlie to his feet, just as Bella and Embry stepped into the living room. His daughter looked worried, and Embry...the boy looked like he'd been punched in the gut, had his dog run over, and been orphaned all at once. The chief's first thought was that something terrible had happened.

"What's wrong, Embry? Did something happen? Is it your mom?"

Embry didn't answer. He just collapsed boneless onto the couch. Bella nudged him aside enough that she could sit down and let his head rest on her lap. Her fingers started carding through hair that was now cropped short.

"Tiffany is okay," Bella spoke slowly. "But..." A heavy sigh. "She finally gave Embry enough clues to puzzle out who his father was tonight."

And clearly, Embry was devastated by what he'd learned. However much he'd indicated it bothered him not knowing who it was, it was obvious to the chief that this was one time where ignorance might have been bliss. Charlie wasn't sure what to say. Not for the first time, he wished he was better at speaking to people, that he had the gift of gab possessed by his friends.

"I'm sorry, Embry," he finally said. "Whoever it was, I'm sorry that what your mom told you hurt you so badly."

The young man's head twitched on Bella's lap, and one arm shifted to wrap around her shins, but he still didn't speak.

"What can I do, Bells?"

"Can Embry stay here, at least for tonight? He needs a little bit of distance just now from his mom, from-from everything."

"What aren't you saying, Bella? What else does Embry need distance from?"

Bella's eyes flicked back and forth between the two men in her life, in obvious indecision. Finally, she whispered, "Billy."

"Why-?"

"It was him."

Charlie stared uncomprehendingly at his daughter for a long moment. Surely he hadn't heard her right. Bella looked down meaningfully at Embry and repeated, "It was him."

The proverbial lightning struck and Charlie finally got it. Oh, hell. Billy Black. Embry had gotten the answer to the identity of his unknown father. And that answer... Billy had cheated on his wife, Sarah, and fathered a son with another woman. And Jacob and Embry were less than a year apart in age, if Charlie remembered right-which meant that Sarah had been pregnant when Billy had stepped out on her. "Damn it," Charlie swore softly.

"Yeah. Even though he'd started to figure out it must have been someone local, to learn this...he just needs some time to clear his head before dealing with anyone else."

"Who else knows now?"

"There was a tribal council meeting tonight, and they insisted that Tiffany say who it was. So the elders, some people our age, and their parents-everyone who was there knows."

"Billy?" Charlie saw Embry twitch again.

"He was there," was all Bella said.

Charlie stood up and headed into the kitchen. Within a few minutes, he was back and holding out a steaming mug. "My mom's old recipe. Drink up, Embry. You need it."

The young man slowly pushed himself upright. Bella wrapped herself around him as Embry reached out to take hold of the cup. At the first sip, dark eyes lifted to meet Charlie's. "Not just tea, is it?"

"It's medicinal. It'll help."

Silence fell in the room. Charlie watched his daughter with Embry. Her hand was tracing up one of Embry's fingers and down the next, going back and forth in a calming motion.

"Did he know?" Charlie finally asked. Embry didn't pretend not to know what was meant by that.

"He knew," was the muttered answer.

"Damn."

Embry snorted and leaned his head to the side to rest on top of Bella's. He breathed deeply and finally started to relax a little bit.

"Bells, will you two be okay for a while? I think I need to go take care of something," Charlie stood up and hitched his belt purposefully.

"Sure."

"There's an air mattress up in the attic that Embry can sleep on down here."

"Okay, Dad."

"I might be back late, so don't wait up, alright? I'll be quiet when I come in."

Bella just nodded. Charlie grabbed his keys and left.

"What do you need? What can I do?" Bella asked her devastated wolf.

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Bella POV

The sound of Charlie's cruiser had barely faded away before Embry lifted me off the couch and onto his lap. Hands threaded through my hair, pulling me close as his tongue plunged into my mouth. His erection rubbed against my core through the layers of our clothing. The involuntary moan I gave a moment later only encouraged Embry to devour me further and lift his hips upward to increase our contact. I forced my eyelids open with great effort to meet Embry's gaze and saw the wolf looking back at me. His black irises were ringed with gold. But this didn't frighten me. It was like a window into his soul, into how much he needed and wanted me.

"You. Need you. Mine," he growled after relinquishing my lips.

"Yours," I agreed, and ground myself down hard onto him. Embry's reaction was instantaneous: his hands moved to surround and squeeze my breasts, which-as usual-made my body go liquid, seeping moisture onto my panties. Embry rumbled in pleasure as the scent filled the air.

"_Mine!_"

"Bed," my words came out as a gasp. I had no clue how long my dad would be gone, but I wasn't about to take the chance of him coming home and seeing us. Embry vaulted to his feet, my weight nothing to him now, and took the stairs two at a time. He dropped me onto the bed just as the door clicked shut behind us.

"Strip," commanded Embry. My hands scrambled to pull off all my clothing, heedlessly letting things fall where they would. I didn't even have time to look up before Embry's body bore me backward to land flat on the bed. He stretched, rubbing against me from head to toe.

"Ngh."

Embry scooted downward and captured one nipple in his mouth, sucking and then tugging at it with a gentle scrape of teeth. I gasped, my entire body reacting instantly. The bloom of arousal consumed me—and probably filled the room, sending Embry on a quest to the source. My legs were pushed apart, opening me up to him. I screamed and thrashed when his tongue licked the length of my pussy, claiming every last drop of the syrup that was his and his alone. Then his tongue pierced my lower lips while his mouth sealed around me and sucked. His hands clamped against my hips to hold me steady for his assault. It seemed like only seconds before I conceded the battle and exploded under his mouth.

"Ambrosia," Embry whispered, letting go of my hips and springing to his feet. My eyelids barely opened a slit for me to watch him riffle in his clothes for a second and turn back to me with something in his hand. After quickly rolling the condom on, he landed back on the bed and rubbed along my body again in the other direction from before. He claimed me in a deep kiss and I was presented with my own taste in his mouth. I managed to lift my legs and hook my feet around Embry's waist. His covered cock bumped against my entrance, sliding through the still-soaked curls. Embry darted downward to claim my lips in another bruising kiss as he slid home within my eager body. My past argument of needing my own recovery time was rendered moot-I felt nothing but pleasure and a fierce hunger for him. My hands reached upward, scrabbling for purchase on his shoulders, nails scratching his skin unconsciously. Flesh brushed against flesh. Voices gasped, moaned, and cried out in unimaginable satisfaction. And once again, we tumbled off the edge into a world where only they existed. The real world only gradually regained clarity when Embry lifted himself up and settled onto the bed next to me, his head pillowed on my breasts. As I had downstairs, my hand stroked his hair, and before long, I felt tears trickling against my skin. I let Embry cry in silence, offering my meager comfort wordlessly until we both drifted to sleep

_I was in the forest again, though this was different from the forest of my early summer nightmares. The twilight quiet was comforting somehow. I still moved with some urgency, however; drawn deeper in by the soft mournful howl-like noises of my wolf. Rounding a tree, he was suddenly there, curled up between tree roots. With my own noise of empathy, I hurried forward and sank down next to him, wrapping my arms around him and threading my fingers into his grey and black fur._

_"I'm here. It will be alright."_

**_How? _**_he somehow asked me._

_"I don't know. I just know that I'm here for you, now and always. However you need me."_

_He stood up then, dwarfing me with his massive size. His head nudged me over, and he stepped carefully until he was behind me. The wolf-my Embry-lay down, and used one paw much like an arm to scoot me backward until I was pressed against his belly. His head descended to become my pillow, and his leg and paw were a heavy yet soothing weight over my body._

**_I need_**_, __Embry breathed in my ear._

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Embry POV

Long after the evenness of her breathing and heartbeat told me that Bella had fallen asleep, I lay awake on her bed. Sleep was impossible for me right now. How could I drift away when the jagged edges of my life grated against my mind? There was that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." I'd longed for years to know who my father was, and had scoffed at my mom's reasons for keeping silent. Well, now her hand had been forced and I had the answer I'd always thought I wanted—a 'gift' that couldn't be returned to the store. But it had proven to be a double-edged sword, and no mistake. I now knew the truth, but there was no peace along with in. Now, instead of wondering who he was, I'm being tortured by questions of "why didn't he want me?" and "how could this happen?"

Had my mom known the truth? Had Billy lied to her? Taken advantage of her? Had he known from the beginning that I was his son? When had he found out? Had he cared at all, or was Jake the only important one? I was his son. Had he known I would phase? Jake was my brother. Not just as part of the pack, but by blood. My own brother had just tried to kill me yesterday. Jake had wanted to take Bella away from me. That won't going to happen. Bella is mine and I'm hers. _Nothing and no one would separate us_, I vowed. To that end, I gently tugged my sleeping imprint closer to my side. A glance at the bedside clock showed that it was nearly midnight now. Had nearly six hours really passed since the bomb had dropped? I'd lost track of the passage of time since my life had irrevocably changed—and Bella deserved all the credit. I listened carefully, but didn't hear anything but the normal sounds of nighttime-and even those were muted to an almost otherworldly hum. There was no breathing or heartbeat from the bedroom across the hall, so Charlie Swan had clearly decided to stay the night wherever he'd gone-which was fine by me. I didn't really feel like getting busted stark naked in my equally naked girlfriend's bed by her protective dad after everything else I'd been through lately.

Glancing down, I confirmed with my eyes what my other senses could testify. Bella hadn't been awakened by me shifting her around. Her hair was lying haphazardly across her bare shoulder and breast, the sheet I'd pulled over us after our sex earlier having slid down to her waist. Despite how quickly Bella and I had rounded the bases in our physical relationship, it didn't seem like enough-maybe would never _be_ enough. If Jared could be believed, this incredible pull would start to ease up some...eventually. But I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted that. The compulsion to be with her-in her-was almost too much to resist, or even think of resisting. She was my shelter in the chaotic storm of my life, my haven against troubles. She was my everything now—I couldn't do this without her. We'd barely been imprinted for a whole day, and yet I now couldn't imagine my life without it.

Yet I somehow would have to keep my raging libido in check. I never ever wanted to be the cause of pain to Bella, and with as well-endowed as I was now, I'd hurt her for sure if I started another round now, what with how many times I'd already taken her in the past two days. Turning my head, I rested my cheek against her hair to better inhale her scent, and finally managed to shove my troubles down deep enough that I could fall asleep.

_I padded through the forest, wolf-instincts guiding me to where I needed to go. Within a small clearing…Bella stood waiting for me. I phased back to human and continued forward until I stood beside her, bending and claiming her lips in a soft kiss that quickly grew in intensity. "Mine," I purred in Bella's ear, possessiveness in every letter of the word._

_"Yours," she agreed. "Just as you are mine." It was just as strong a feeling hearing her claim me as it was to assert my own claim._

_Bella tugged my hand, turning us toward…a fluffy blanket? What was a blanket doing on the ground in the middle of the forest? But the scent of her and me and us fast rendered that thought irrelevant. The blanket was here, and we were for damn sure not letting it go to waste. A quick tug and she was in my arms, falling with me onto the blanket._

_I ran my hand down Bella's sides, tearing her clothing off her body and exposing her to my gaze. She shifted, trying to burrow underneath me for more warmth. As she turned more onto her stomach, I realized that I had never paid the back of her body much attention. So I scooted a little farther away and allowed Bella to settle fully onto her front side. I lifted her hair up and over her shoulder and feasted my eyes on my mate. Everything was perfection. Skin lay smoothly over muscles. I was pleased that she had gained back all of the weight she'd lost from being sick at the beginning of the summer and that there weren't any obvious bones protruding where they shouldn't. Her spine dipped in the curve of her lower back, before rising up into the amazing swell of her butt-not that she had a big Kim Kardashian butt or anything like that; Bella's was perfect. I wanted to stroke every inch of her, but I needed—I didn't question the presence of a bottle of her violet-scented lotion in our forest, and I squirted some into my hands and warmed it before beginning. I started at her shoulders and worked my way down, massaging the lotion into her skin with gentle circular motions. The friction of skin against skin started sending sparks through my veins, and I immediately started to harden._

_Perversely, as much as I wanted to adore her ass, I skipped downward to continue my massage at her feet and work my way back up. Somehow, my health classes had overlooked the fact of feet being an erogenous zone, because I could almost taste Bella's growing arousal as I rubbed the lotion into her flesh. When I reached her knees, her legs automatically parted to give me greater access-to her scent as well as her skin. As I finally stroked over the curves of her rear, Bella unconsciously bucked upward into my hands. I squeezed, and then shifted my grip around to her hips, lifting her upward onto her knees. My body likewise shifted until I was on my knees, too, and quickly draped over her prone form._

_"Feel what you do to me?" I purred softly into her ear. My rigid cock nudged its way between her parted legs toward its desired home. Bella still seemed to be sleeping; nevertheless, she moaned and her body reacted to the proximity of mine. My hips rocked back and forth, sliding my cock along the cleft of her legs and through the dripping moisture her body was producing. The pleasure ratcheted up degree by degree, almost edging into pain but not quite crossing the line. When I felt my balls tighten up, I pulled away from Bella and wrapped one hand around my cock and starting to stroke and twist my way up and down it, while my other hand dropped lower to cup and squeeze my sac. Squeezing both hands firmly, my hips bucked as my balls emptied and my cock erupted to cover Bella's ass and back._

_Not wanting to leave her side—much less having anything handy for cleanup, I continued the massage that had started all of this and rubbed all my cum into her skin, imprinting my scent there as a warning to everyone else that this woman was claimed. Satisfied, I curled my body around her protectively. Another blanket I hadn't seen before was nearby, and I grabbed it to spread over us both. While I kept watch, my mate slept. After a time, though, my wolf began to stir._

**_He still wants her. He will try to claim her if we let him._**

**_We won't let him. She is ours. _**_The vow rumbled from my chest._

_Lifting Bella onto her hands and knees again, I shifted her legs to gain a little more access and pressed down on her spine to tip her ass into a better position. Then I thrust forward and into her in a single smooth stroke. Once again, it was like entering heaven. There was nowhere else I wanted to be than connected with her in this most intimate of ways, physical evidence of the mental, emotional, and spiritual bond that now tied us together for the rest of our lives. _

_"Mmmm. More," murmured Bella, rocking back against me. I was only too happy to oblige—was compelled to, even-setting up a gradually increasing rhythm and intensity to my movements. Before long, Bella's inner walls were clenching around my cock like a vise, and a now-familiar tightening of my balls presaged my own orgasm. _

_I dropped down until my chest was touching Bella's prone back, covering her completely with my body and burying my nose in the hair at the nape of her neck. With one final deep thrust, I emptied my body of everything it could produce and my mouth opened to release a throaty growl. _

_"Mine."_

_Our orgasms seemed to drain all strength from our bodies, and we collapsed down onto the blanket. Reluctantly I pulled out of Bella's soothing warmth and rolled to lie beside her. _

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Narrator POV

Forks' Chief of Police didn't feel a single ounce of shame at having used his position to exceed the speed limit on his drive down to La Push. There were questions that needed answering, and Billy was the only one who could do that. He probably wouldn't want to, but Charlie wasn't going to let him get away with avoiding it anymore. They'd been friends for far too long, and sometimes being friends meant forcing an issue even if the other person didn't want it. Bella wasn't a liar-at least, not about important stuff-so if she said that Billy was Embry's father, then he was.

Charlie had been thinking about that the whole time he'd been driving. He was being forced to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about one of his best friends. Up until now, he'd have sworn that Billy would never be the type to stray. Yet, obviously, he had. He'd strayed and then kept it a secret from everyone for years. Or had he? Had anyone besides Tiffany and Billy himself known the truth? If anyone else had, they'd never breathed a word—as evidenced by the lack of rumors about Embry until just recently.

He pulled the cruiser to a stop in front of Billy's little red house, got out, and walked straight inside.

"Billy?" He flipped on a light in the darkened house and kept moving. As usual, his friend was sitting in the kitchen, an empty can of beer lying on its side on the table.

"We need to talk," Charlie said firmly. He opened the fridge and removed two cans. Shoving one can across the table toward one of his best friends, Charlie dropped into the seat on the other side. Billy reached a hand to wrap around the can, lifted, drank, set it down. Lift, drink, set down.

"We can sit here all night if we have to, old man, or you can start talking and get this over with," Charlie finally said.

"It's not your-" Billy said.

"Bullshit," his friend snapped with an uncharacteristic expletive. "It damn well is my business. I've only been your friend for most of our lives. I'd be a pretty crappy friend if I didn't care about stuff going on in your life. And my daughter is dating Embry, remember? So what concerns him concerns her, and what concerns my daughter concerns me. Is this why you were against their relationship? Because she wasn't picking the _right_ son?"

Billy was silent-clear enough answer to Charlie that the charge was probably accurate.

"Why, Billy?" the question was soft, but firm. "Why did you cheat on Sarah? And why the hell have you spent the last seventeen years watching this boy grow up-and in your house, more often than not-without a single word or acknowledgment?"

More silence.

"Okay, if that's how you want it. I guess in the end you're not really answerable to me about any of this. Just to your kids-_all_ of them-and your tribe. But you are going to have to talk and explain all this sooner or later. And right now, judging by me finding you in a dark empty house, I'm the only person willing to even hear you out."

Billy couldn't help an involuntary shudder. Charlie was right. Embry hadn't been seen since stalking from the room after snarling, "You're the bastard," in Billy's face-though if Charlie was here and knew what had been said, then it meant Embry was in Forks with Bella. Jacob had vanished soon after, and the council meeting had ended just a short time later, with everyone disappearing in different directions. Billy had been driven back home, but neither Harry nor Sue had said a single word the whole time. A heavy sigh. "Okay."

Charlie grabbed two more cans of their favored Vitamin R beer and sat down again.

"It was eighteen years ago, obviously. Sarah and I were happy from day one-you remember that?"

Charlie just nodded.

"So we were happy newlyweds...and then Sarah got pregnant. We both knew twins were a strong possibility-I had twin sisters and so did my dad-but all the same, I think we were still a little surprised when we had twin girls, too. We adored Rebecca and Rachel, but twins...twice the work, twice the stuff they needed... The economy wasn't great back then for anyone, and reservations are always even worse than the outside world with unemployment rates and low wages. We were practically living hand-to-mouth, and already feeling guilty about all the things that we wouldn't be able to provide for our girls. Then... they were barely toddlers and not even potty-trained yet and Sarah got pregnant again." Billy paused to take another drink and to give Charlie a chance to comment. But his old friend just stayed silent, plainly intending to say nothing until the other man had told the whole story.

"It was an accident, Sarah getting pregnant with Jake. She'd been a little depressed for a while, with how tough things were, and she was taking some herbs and stuff to try and feel better. No one warned us that the birth control pills weren't effective with those herbs in her system, too. I-" Billy sighed and took another pull on the can of beer. "I panicked. I kept having nightmares about us living in a tent or the car, or-"

"And you thought that all your friends-all of your sisters?-would just stand by and let that happen?"

"I wasn't thinking straight, okay? I panicked."

A pair of dark eyebrows rose incredulously at the patently obvious statement.

"We already had one set of twins, and I was terrified we were about to get another. Ultrasounds weren't common at all back then anywhere, much less here, so I spent a few weeks letting that dark thought take root in my brain."

"I said I needed to go find work that paid better and headed to Port Angeles and the commercial fishing boats. But I guess I was maybe trying to run away from stuff as much as I was trying to solve anything. I missed Sarah and the girls, but at the same time it was freeing to be living the bachelor life again. I met Tiffany at a bar in Port Angeles one night. Two natives...we got to talking. I wasn't wearing my wedding ring-too dangerous out on the boat-and I didn't volunteer that detail. The first few meetings were just talking and enjoying each other's company. Then one night...I guess we just had too much to drink and we ended up in bed together. I did use a condom, Charlie. I swear I did. Every single time. One night, Four showed up in Port Angeles. My dad had suddenly gotten really sick—was dying—and they needed me to come home. I had no choice but to come back right then. I just put the whole indiscretion behind me and focused on Sarah and my kids, my mom and my sisters. I guess I grew up then—fast. So much was put on my shoulders then that I didn't have time to be scared anymore. And then Jake was born. So perfect…"

"Tiffany showed up in La Push a few weeks after Jake was born-and it was pretty obvious she was pregnant, too. Swore it was mine and that the condom I'd used must have broken. She'd been kicked out by her family—turned out she'd been using a fake ID to get into the bar and she wasn't as old as I'd thought she was."

"So she knew your name and how to find you?" The cop in Charlie asked the question.

"I hadn't planned to sleep with her, Charlie—I had no reason to give a fake name or hide where I lived. I never thought she'd follow me here."

"Did you believe her that it was your kid?"

"Yeah. I wanted to try and turn it back on her, make it seem like it could have been anyone's kid. But I knew she wasn't lying about it. She'd been a virgin before me, and had come here to track me down. Then she got blindsided finding out I already had a family. I felt guilty about it all—Four made sure of that. He helped work things so that Tiffany got a place to stay and a job, and stuff for her baby."

"Did you do anything?"

The head of long still-black hair dipped. "I couldn't, Charlie. I barely had enough for my own family as it was—and I couldn't let anyone get suspicious of me giving her things. I did help later on," Billy defended. "Embry became one of Jake's best friends, and I taught him things—"

"But never claimed him," Charlie countered.

"I couldn't," repeated Billy. "Sarah—"

"Has been dead for almost a decade, Billy. A good half of Embry's life. Nothing that might have come out after her death could have possibly hurt Sarah—don't use that as an excuse."

"The shame—"

"Is going to be a hell of a lot worse now. I hope you don't need me to tell you how badly you screwed this up. You've got 3 kids who now know you betrayed their mother and may hate you for it. Jake will never be able to look at his friend the same way again. And Embry…damn it to hell, Billy. You may have not given him much thought up till now, but you'd better start thinking about him now. All your excuses-and they're pretty crappy, to be brutally honest about it-aren't going to hold a drop of water anymore. You may think you grew up when you came back here and took over your family and tribe...but if you really had, you wouldn't have denied your son and his mother. Embry may not ever forgive you for this, and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. That boy had had a tough life; that you saw that and knew why, yet did nothing...that's not the man I thought you were."

And with that, Charlie fell silent. More beer was consumed before he stood up and pushed a quite drunk Billy out of the kitchen and helped him get ready for bed. Somewhat inebriated himself, Charlie managed to make it to one of the beds in the twins' old room and was asleep when his head hit the pillow.

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AN: I really hope this came out right. I think I'm happy with it, but you be the judge. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.


	45. The Morning After

Guest: Thanks. Glad you liked it. Hope this came soon enough, and my apologies if it didn't.

liss. Wsrner (from ch. 25): Happy you enjoyed this. Yes, I also think Kiowa (Embry) is one fine looking wolf (so is Jared, and Paul, too).

Cara: I'm always thrilled to hear that readers love my stories. Updates come with as short a wait as possible, but sometimes circumstances intervene to push back new chapters. Life has been really crazy for me lately, and my muse has been hard to get flowing for any of my stories. But I'll keep plugging away at all my stories until they're completed.

AN: Here's the next installment of the story. I hope you enjoy this and that it came out okay. Can't wait to hear what you think.

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Narrator POV

In many houses in La Push that night, sleep was in short supply. Emily Uley tossed and turned, castigating herself for having been late to the meeting and not being able to speak to Bella and Embry as she'd planned. Jared lay beside his imprint, hand on her belly and ears tuned to the fluttering heartbeat of his unborn child. He tried to fathom how Billy—who'd already known the awesome joy of fatherhood—could have rejected his youngest child. Others, like James and Laura, and Caleb and Marisol, who had known Billy most of their lives, were equally baffled.

Sam ran all the usual patrol routes and kept his thoughts to himself as much as possible. He ended up coming to the conclusion that the spirits must have it in for him: what with a deceitful tribal elder, and two pack members who were secret brothers and openly at each other's throats. How Embry and Jacob would adjust to this bombshell was anyone's guess. And how—let along by whom—Billy would be held to account was a question without an obvious answer. Jacob and Quil had continued to run and had nearly left the forests of Washington behind for those of British Columbia, Canada.

_Why did he do it, Sam? _Jacob asked quietly, breaking his long silence.

_I don't know, Jake. Why did my dad walk out on Mom and me? Why does anyone do anything?_

_'Me' or 'you',_ offered Quil.

_What?_ both of the others choked.

_People either do stuff for other people or for themselves._

_Altruism or egoism. Selfless action or selfish action, _Sam mused_. Well, I always thought that my dad was selfish for leaving, that he was irresponsible and didn't want to man up and take care of his family._

_What about __**my**__ dad?_

_I don't know, Jake. The answer to that question depends on why everything happened to begin with, and the only people who can say that are Billy and Tiffany. Maybe Billy sacrificed being with Tiffany and Embry to stay with you, your mom, and your sisters._

_Or maybe he was selfish and wanted to have his cake and eat it too._

_Maybe. He could tell you-and he __**should**__ tell you. You, Rebecca, and Rachel all deserve to know how you ended up with a secret half-brother, just as Embry is entitled to hear why he was never acknowledged._

_How could Dad keep this a secret for so long?_

_I dunno,_ said Quil. _Most people…if they know a secret, then it's like it starts to feel bigger and bigger until they just have to tell someone to ease the pressure, and then it's easier to not tell anyone else. At least, I'm that way._

_But if he did tell someone, then why didn't they do anything about it?_

Sam sighed._ Maybe they-if there actually was someone-didn't feel that they __**could**__ share the secret. They could have been bound by a promise not to say anything. But Billy may well have been able to keep the secret just to him and Tiffany. It's something else that only your dad can say for certain._

_Guess I ought to come back so I can ask him, huh?_

_It'll be easier, _Sam agreed. _I'll have you two cover the afternoon shift tomorrow, so you can sleep the morning away if you want to._

_You can crash at my place, Jake, _Quil offered. _Give you a little more time to figure out what questions you want to ask._

_Thanks...bro._

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Harry Clearwater settled into bed and watched his wife pacing around their bedroom.

"How could it happen, Harry? How could Billy do something like that?"

He sighed heavily. "I wish I knew. I'd have put Josh at the top of the list. Even have considered Caleb, my brother Michael, or your brother Lucas as candidates before I'd have suspected Billy. Come here."

When Sue lay next to him, Harry pulled her close. "We'll get through this somehow-all of us."

"How? Embry won't welcome Billy into his life now-you know he won't. Not with how he reacted at the meeting."

"I was impressed with his control, actually. A wolf for only a day, and Embry kept it contained even when it had to be lashing him inside to be released."

"Jacob will be tough, too. Not only is he facing that he didn't just lose his dream-girl to his friend-to his own brother-but that Billy cheated on Sarah and betrayed her and his kids."

"And did it while Sarah was pregnant with him," added Harry.

"They are just six months apart in age," Sue nodded against his shoulder. "Tiffany was about halfway through her pregnancy when she came to La Push-and that was right after Jacob was born."

Harry knew there was more that he just didn't remember, but he'd have to wait and see if it came to him. He was just drifting off to sleep when it did, almost making him bolt upright in bed. He managed not to, and Sue remained asleep beside him. The affair-or whatever it had been-between Billy and Tiffany had to have happened when Billy had been gone working up in Port Angeles for those few months in the middle of Sarah's pregnancy. Billy had come back to La Push just in time for a final goodbye before his dad's death. If Harry remembered right, Four had been the one to go and bring him back. Harry also thought that Quil IV had been the one to help Tiffany get settled in at La Push when she'd arrived a few months later, assisting with her getting a house and job. He hadn't thought much about it at the time, figuring that Old Quil had been encouraging his son to demonstrate responsibility and such before his own child was born. But it could easily have been that Four was making sure Tiffany was being looked after since Billy couldn't do it openly-or else _wouldn't_. Ice raced down Harry's spine as a horrible possibility occurred to him. Could Four's death in that boating accident a few years later have been connected? Could the spirits have taken him in consequence for him having helped hide the existence of his friend's son? _Please, no. Let him have been as ignorant as the rest of us were. _

And if that was true, then had the fallout stopped there? Sarah had died in that car accident within months of Four's death, and Billy had been forced into the wheelchair. Billy's daughters had bolted from La Push as soon as they were legally old enough to do so, and hadn't been back since; Rebecca almost certainly wouldn't ever return, what with being married now to a surfer in Hawaii. Embry's phase into the pack had been rife with anger and accusations, his imprint tarnished with malicious gossip even before it happened. The pack was clearly divided over this whole mess-could they do their job and protect everyone with this distraction and chaos? What could and should the elders do? About Billy? For Embry? For everyone? _Spirits, guide us all, please,_ Harry implored, and tried to push everything aside enough so that he could get some sleep.

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Bella POV

I woke up to the sun shining full on my face. My automatic move to roll over away from that golden glow produced two immediate effects. The first was realizing that I was wrapped up tightly in Embry's embrace-which meant I couldn't actually move very far. The second was that moving at all made me groan from the soreness between my legs-clearly, I'd been right after all on the consequences of too much sex in a short period of time.

"Bella?" Embry sounded wide awake. His warmth disappeared from behind me and I twisted my head to see that he'd turned onto his back.

"Morning," I said.

"Are you okay?" he asked, clearly meaning the sound I'd made.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" I deflected the concern.

"I think I'm not thinking about that right now. Seriously, Bella, are you alright? I heard you groan when you tried to move. Did I hurt you?"

"I'm alright," my promise came easily. "Am I a bit sore? Yes. But that's to be expected. It'll take a few times for my body to really adjust to all this. Plus, I just spent hours asleep in one position, and that makes muscles get stiff, too. I'm not hurt, I swear. I'd tell you if I was-and you'd know anyway, I think."

Embry considered it for a minute and then nodded acceptance, before sitting up and getting off the bed.

"You're getting up?" I asked. Embry turned to look at me and I blushed involuntarily. One part of him was very much upright.

"Its morning and I'm a guy, and I just spent the night next to you," he explained the obvious. "If I stay there, with you, on that bed…I'm going to want another round, and you don't need that."

I had to admit he was right-however much a part of me would have been happy to pretend otherwise.

"What time is it?"

"Probably late enough that I need to get out of your bed before your dad catches me in it." After a glance at the clock, he added, "It's just after seven."

I winced at the thought of Charlie walking in and catching us. That would so not be a good thing. He might know I possessed birth control, but that in no way meant that he wanted to think about me using it for the intended purpose.

Embry pulled on his shorts and padded silently over to the door. "He's not back yet. I'll take a quick shower and then fix breakfast while you take your own shower-or a bath if you'd rather."

"I want a good morning kiss first." He obliged me, both of us ignoring our morning breath, before leaving my room. The shower had just turned on when I remembered, "Air mattress."

"I'll grab it," Embry called back, clearly able to hear me from across the hall and over the sound of the running water.

I stayed motionless on my bed throughout Embry's shower and his trip up and down the attic ladder to retrieve the air mattress. When I got up to head to the bathroom, I bit my lip to stifle any sounds of discomfort. However sore I was, I wasn't about to vocalize my aches and make Embry feel any worse about anything than he already did. It really was soreness rather than pain-and I had a high tolerance threshold anyway. I ended up doing a shower instead of a bath, as that was my normal morning routine. Besides, I had no idea when my dad would come home and didn't want to give him any cause to know that something had happened last night; after our discussion the day I'd gotten my birth control pills, Charlie and I had basically avoided the whole sex topic.

Embry had breakfast waiting for me when I arrived in the kitchen carrying an armload of sheets for washing. He appropriated the laundry and nudged me toward the table, watching me sit down and start eating before disappearing into the laundry room to start the wash. He came back just as the phone started ringing. With an inquiring look my way, Embry answered the phone when I gestured for him to.

"Swan residence."

"Paul?"

"Oops. I think I muted my phone after getting the meeting announcement message yesterday-didn't feel like getting bothered when I was with Bella. Guess I never turned it back on."

"What for?"

"Okay."

"No. Went somewhere after we got here last night and didn't come back."

"Sure. Whatever."

"I'll be there, and I'll let Bella know. Bye," and Embry hung up the phone.

"That was Paul?" I confirmed the impression I'd gotten from hearing Embry's side of the conversation.

"Yeah. Sam still wants me to start doing the wolf stuff today, and Paul gets to be my run around buddy."

"Sounds fun," my attempt at enthusiasm wasn't too sincere.

"Guess I'll find out. What are you planning to do today?"

"I think I may do something with Angela and Jessica."

"Have fun. Oh, Paul said that Emily Uley has been trying to get hold of you about something and for you to call her back."

"Okay, I'll check my phone for her number."

Despite the fact that Embry's plate was piled three times the size of mine, I wasn't even halfway done before he'd cleared it of food and taken it to the sink.

"Gotta run," he said, leaning down and tilting my face up so that he could kiss me. "Paul's gonna be waiting in the woods out back."

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Embry POV

I wasn't any more eager to leave Bella now than I had been since at any moment since I'd imprinted on her. But 'duty calls', Alpha orders, and all that, so I was walking across Bella's backyard to join Paul-going backward to keep my eyes on the house as long as I could. I stopped just inside the trees and put my shirt, shoes, and turned-off cell phone into the waterproof bag Bella had given me.

"So Charlie doesn't ask awkward questions if you show back up here in only a pair of shorts. I think he has a threshold of only one half-naked visitor per week, and Paul claimed this week's spot the other night."

Glancing around, I didn't see Paul and decided to go ahead and try to get phased before he showed up. Like my earlier changes, I didn't need to go searching for motivation-just the memory of Billy Black's blank face when his sperm donation came to light did the trick.

_Hey, glad you made it, _Paul's mental voice greeted me.

_I'm right on time. Where are you?_

Paul's medium gray wolf appeared from the depths of the forest. _Thought you might appreciate a little privacy when you phased. You'll get used to the whole stripping to phase or phasing back with others around before long, though. It's not like we stand around checking out each other's junk or anything. It ends up being one of those things that you know is happening, but you just don't pay attention to it._

_Good to know_, I snarked back.

_So...what did you and the lovely Bella do last night?_

_Played checkers._

_Hah, _Paul laughed at my obvious sarcasm_. Huh. I'm not getting anything. Maybe that order of Sam's really did work on you. Let's make sure, though. Try purposefully thinking about something-something tame_, he added when my teeth bared at him involuntarily. _Let me see if the gag order works when you're trying to project your thoughts._

He had a point. The only way we'd know for sure if I'd be able to keep the stuff between Bella and me private was to risk sharing it. I did keep it mild-just the grab and grind on her couch right after her dad had left-and then waited for the verdict.

_Nothing, _Paul said.

I huffed a sigh of relief_. Great. _I knew Bella would be happy about that, and I was, too.

_Embry?_

_Sam?_

_Yeah. Just wanted to check in before I phased out-see how you're doing._

_How should I be doing? _And these thoughts did leak out. The part of me that thirsted to cause harm to Billy Black and shed the blood he'd passed on to me. The anger and shame of being the rejected, unclaimed son.

_You should be doing about like you are. _Sam did his own sharing, then: the similar feelings and emotions he'd had when his father had abandoned him, how he'd been looked down on by some people for being no-good Uley's son. _You have every right to be pissed off-and believe me, you aren't the only one wanting to do a Cujo reenactment._

_Thanks-I think._

_No problem. I'll let Paul start showing you the ropes-or, rather he'll continue the process he and Jared started your first night. It wouldn't surprise me if you didn't register a lot of what they said and demonstrated—honestly, we all needed a few times for the stuff we learned to really start sinking in._

_Doubt I did hear much of anything_, I conceded_._

_Paul will be a good teacher-and if you ever have questions, my door is open. _Sam seemed to remember something then. _Embry, there's one thing about imprinting that I forgot to mention when you and Bella were at my place yesterday, and I need to make sure you know about it. Emily's going to tell Bella today when they talk._

_What's that?_

_At some point-and later will be better than sooner-your wolf will insist on marking Bella._

_Marking? _My mind came up with the only picture it could: a dog pissing to mark its territory.

Both Sam and Paul snorted with laughter.

_No, nothing like that, although I suppose there's something of the same mentality behind it_, Sam said_. Your wolf will mark his mate to show the world-and especially other wolves-that she belongs to him and isn't up for claiming._

_And how will it happen?_

_You'll feel the impulse when having sex—_

_-doggie-style—_Paul cut in.

_-with your mate in front of you. The bite is placed on her neck. It'll heal instantly, so there's no worry about injury or infection._

_So you're saying that one day, out of the blue-my wolf will insist on chewing up Bella's neck?_

_It's not as drastic as that, but, yes._

_Okay, note to self that I need to watch out for the infantile urge to bite. Thanks a bunch._

_Embry! _I guess Sam wasn't happy with my apparently too-casual dismissal of what he was telling me.

_No, I'm not. Because there's a reason you and Bella need to know about this-and not because she got her wrist chewed on by a vampire once. After you mark her...it won't take long at all before she'll conceive._

_Conceive?_

_Yep, you'll get a little pup in the den, _quipped Paul.

_A baby?_

_Yes. _Sam's mind flashed back to an image of Emily with a swollen stomach, and I recalled Jared telling me the first night that he was super-protective of Kim now because she was pregnant.

_Whoa._

_It will happen-that's the nature and ultimate purpose for imprinting-but __**not**__ until you're both ready. Get done with high school and start to figure out what comes next before taking this step._

_Okay. No biting. _He wasn't going to get any argument from me-I was months away from turning eighteen, and Bella was still a few weeks shy of that milestone herself. Like Sam said, there was plenty of time for us to finish growing up before even thinking about starting a family. I wanted it, but waiting was fine.

_Right. _Satisfied, Sam phased out.

_Ready to run? _Paul asked.

_Lead on._

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Paul POV

I headed out to pick Embry up to start his first official patrol as a member of the pack. He'd had it a lot easier so far than the rest of us had had when it came to the wolf stuff—but the human crap he'd had to deal with was way worse than ours, so it probably all balanced out. If there was a "worst case" scenario, this was it. Not that my family was the poster-child of proper behavior, but to my mind it was beyond messed up to know that Billy had looked his son in the face on an almost daily basis and never admitted that fact to anyone. That had to burn Embry, and probably would for a long time. I didn't feel Jacob in the pack mind, so he'd clearly phased out at some point during the night.

_He crashed at Quil's place for a few hours,_ Sam said. _They'll take over for you and Embry this afternoon._

_Okay. You think Quil ought to phase in first, so Embry gets a chance to bail before Jake comes on?_ I asked. Like Sam had said earlier, keeping the two of them apart for long wasn't going to work, but that had been before we'd found out that they were brothers.

_Might not be a bad idea, this time. Jake seemed more focused on Billy last night, but I don't want him to start taking shots at Tiffany or Embry himself again now that he's had a chance to think a little. I'll let Quil know._

Coming up behind the Swan house, the musky scents of wolf and sex pervaded the air, even more noticeable to me in wolf-form than they'd been while I'd been human and in the house, or when I'd been phased here dealing with new-wolf Embry an hour or so later.

_Whew, those two sure did have some fun the other day._

_Tease them at your own risk, Paul. I'd hope you remember how Jared went after you for some of the stuff you spouted off about him and Kim, and I expect Embry will be just as protective of his own imprint. And if Bella gets upset..._Sam flashed an image of Bella's face when she'd first realized how much Embry had accidentally let slip in the pack mind._ Well, I'd watch eating any food she fixed, if I were you._

_You think she'd drug me?_

_I think she'd come up with some kind of creative revenge,_ Sam agreed. _Pranksters like Jared get all the attention, but it's the quiet ones that really pull off the good stunts. I don't want her feeling uncomfortable about her relationship with Embry-they've gotten enough crap about it already, and it'll probably only get worse when the news about Billy being Embry's dad leaks out-which it will._

_Yeah, that's a clusterfuck of a shitstorm, and no mistake about it,_ I agreed. _I don't think me __**not**__ teasing them, at least a little bit, is possible. After all, I did help get Bella and Embry together-I almost __**have**__ to tease. But I promise I won't take it too far, Sam. I want that food._

It was clear to me that Embry didn't want to leave Bella-though he thankfully didn't put up a fight. He also took Sam's instructions about the whole marking thing pretty well.

_I want a family,_ said Embry midway through our run. _But I want to do it the right way. And I don't want to take anything away from either Bella or me. _His mind flashed first to his parents, and then to Bella's reaction to the restriction against any of us going away to college.

_Good idea. Sam and Emily, and Jared and Kim, have had it tough enough as it is being new parents or expectant parents after only graduating high school. You and Bella don't need the stress of a baby while you're still in school._

_Thanks, Master Yoda._

_See that you heed my words, youngling._

Embry mentally laughed.

_Okay. We run our patrol loops through the forests and around the whole peninsula now._

_Now?_

_Yeah. We were a lot more limited on where we could go while the leeches lived here. But we've taken over their territory now. We mix up the routes to keep all the trails fresh-don't want to give any stray bloodsuckers the idea that any area isn't being watched._

_Bella-_

_We'll all be patrolling by her house, _I assured him. _She's an imprint, and all of us will look out for her. It's really convenient for us that the house backs up to the forest-which you may see firsthand if you have to jump out of her window to avoid the chief's shotgun._

_We can jump that?_

_Just like stepping off the curb. Easy peasy._ _Anyway, we can swing by here for a listen and scent check and still stay out of sight._

_Okay. _Then, _Easy peasy?_

_Hey, it's my sister's favorite phrase right now. Annoying as heck, I know._

_Sister. _Embry thought how strange it was to realize that he technically now had two of them. He knew Rachel and Rebecca of course, from having spent so much of his childhood at the Black home. But the twins were enough older than Jake and his friends that they'd kept the boys at a distance. He wondered what they would think when they learned what we all now knew

_They'll hate me. Blame me._

_Nah, they won't. They're not like that._

_**He**__ is. I hate him. I wish he'd suffer-_ and then came a flood of horrific fates for Billy Black.

_Emb, the man watched his wife die in a car accident, he got paralyzed and has to depend on government assistance to support himself and his family, he watched his daughters bolt from La Push as soon as they were old enough-and I doubt they'll ever move back. He-_

_If you're gonna say anything about how hard it was for him watching Jake wolf out_-_**don't**_. _I went through that, too, remember-and he just blames me for doing what I shouldn't have been able to do._

_I'm sorry. You're right. He's got __**two**__ sons who are wolves, and him being concerned only about Jake is wrong._ _But he has suffered, Embry. Maybe the spirits were punishing him for the things he did-and didn't do-where you and your mom were concerned. Karmic justice._

_It's not enough. All that stuff-he still didn't care about me or Mom._

_He does owe you, sure enough. Sam's pretty pissed about it all, you know. He won't let Billy slide on answering for it all, any more than he'll let Jake slide._

I couldn't really tell if he believed me or not. He didn't argue, though, and we let the conversation drop. We ran through the forest so that Embry could see and experience all the patrol routes for himself, running full out for a while so I could get another look at his speed. Then we tackled a few basic vamp-killing moves before Quil popped in to join us.

_Hey, guys. Sam wanted me to give you a heads up that the switchover is coming._

_Thanks, Quil. We better head back, Embry. Do you have to go back home for some clothes?_

_Nope. Got some waiting back at Bella's house._

_Tell her I said 'hi',_ Quil told him. _You'd better run if you want to get there before Jake phases in._

Without responding, Embry hit the gas and bolted for Bella's house.

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Bella POV

Breakfast done, I transferred the wet sheets into the dryer before heading to the living room to see that Embry had spread the deflated air mattress out on the floor. In typical fashion, I blushed to think back on how the mattress had truly met its demise. Well, at least it had given its life in a good cause. I grabbed Embry's backpack and took it upstairs. I wasn't sure how long he'd be patrolling, but he would be coming back here when he was done. I didn't really want to remind my dad that my boyfriend and I had just spent an unsupervised night alone together. On my way back downstairs, I detoured into my dad's room to grab his sheets and wash them along with the sheets Embry hadn't actually used last night. As I turned for the door with the armload of fabric in hand, I saw Charlie's cruiser turn into the driveway. I had just enough time to get back to the living room and pick up those sheets before the front door opened.

"Bells?" Charlie's voice called out.

"Here, Dad."

"How's Embry? And where is he?"

"He's okay, I guess. I think he's trying not to think about any of it too much right now. You actually just missed him. Paul picked him up a few minutes ago so they can spend some time together this morning."

"How are _you_ doing?"

"I guess I'm okay, too. Probably just as confused about everything as Embry is. None of it makes any sense-not why it happened to begin with or all the years of silence. What did Billy say?" I knew even without thinking about it that my dad had to have gone to the Blacks' last night-to get the story directly from the horse's mouth.

"He said a whole lot, but how much of it was what really happened or if it was what he'd convinced himself happened-or if all of it was just the beer talking-I don't know. If his story was true, then it was loneliness that brought them together when they were away from home, and drinking that let things get out of hand. He'd told Tiffany his name and where he lived, so she came to find him once she realized there was a baby involved."

"So he always knew Embry was his," I stated.

"Seems so. Jake had just been born, so Billy never said anything. Maybe he thought letting her live and work on the rez made up for what he didn't do."

"I don't think it does-and neither will Embry. That almost makes it worse than if Billy had just made her leave."

"I know, kiddo. So..."

"I think there's still some breakfast left in the kitchen if you need something before you go to work. I'm going to call Angela and Jess after I take care of this laundry and see if they want to do anything this morning. Oh, Embry said you'll probably need to get a new air mattress. This one got a hole or something in it and was flat as a pancake by this morning." I could only hope I pulled this fib off convincingly.

"Thanks for letting me know, Bells-about the food and the mattress. I'll check with Newton's to see if they've got a patch, or just get a new one if it doesn't cost too much."

As I expected, my friends were only too eager to get together, and we arranged to meet at Jessica's house.

"Okay, Bella. Spill. All the juicy little details. What have you and that gorgeous native hunk of yours been up to?"

Naturally, my face flamed fiery red.

"Oh-ho! Home run, right?"

"Out of the ballpark," I managed.

"I knew it," crowed Jess. "The way he was messing with you during the movie yesterday...that boy's got moves. Sorry, that _man_ has moves."

"Yeah, he does." With their gentle and pestering encouragement, I shared some of the things Embry and I had been doing.

"I think I'm jealous," Angela fanned herself theatrically. "Whew!"

"Damn, he's taking good care of you," agreed Jess. "And you're returning the favor, right?"

"Some. I've tried to, well, to study stuff, but books don't give much detail, and you never know how much to trust the internet."

"So what do you want to do?"

Could I die of embarrassment? But these were my friends, and I didn't have to be ashamed of anything. "I dreamed about...my mouth...him...and I think he liked what I did for him yesterday. But I don't want to screw it up."

"Guys love oral sex," Jessica pronounced. "Giving and getting-especially getting. Short of biting them hard, there's not really a wrong way to do it. It does take practice, though, so you don't gag-that really kills the mood. Be right back." She was as good as her word, coming back with a bunch of bananas and popsicles. "Alright, ladies, the art of going down on a guy..."

Embarrassment was subdued by relief at really knowing what to do. Since Embry liked using his mouth on me, it stood to reason-like Jess had said-that he'd enjoy me returning the favor. I hadn't-or so I thought-done too badly yesterday with my first attempt at oral sex, but that could have been beginner's luck. Much better if I got tips from a real person who knew what was what. However, between yesterday morning and today, I'd never be able to look at a banana with a straight and blush-free face again.

"Thanks, Jess."

"No problem. Just tell him he owes me a consulting fee-just kidding. It's too bad he doesn't have any brothers-I'd sure like one just as yummy as him for my own."

I winced involuntarily.

"Bella?" concern filled Angela's voice.

"Promise you won't say anything-at least not yet." When they both agreed, I quietly continued, "Actually, he does. Have a brother, I mean. And two sisters. Half-siblings, technically." And I filled them in on the basics of last night's bombshells.

"That's..." words escaped Angela.

"Incredible. In a bad way," agreed Jessica. "How's he taken it? Finding out his lifelong best friend is actually his brother?"

"He hasn't really said much about it. I know he wanted to know who it was, but now that he does...maybe he's wishing he was still ignorant."

Angela sighed sympathetically. "I'm sorry. I could-do you think Embry would want to talk to my dad? Or I could ask him for advice for you. I know he counsels people as part of being a minister, and he's probably helped people cope with upsetting revelations like this."

"I don't know. I just don't know. I'm not sure if Embry would want to talk to an outsider."

"I can be vague when I ask my dad, and you-and Embry-can decide what to do from there."

After a little silence, Jessica got us talking again on a new topic.

"So...who's looking forward to going back to school on Tuesday?"

"Tuesday?" I was confused.

"Freshman and Sophomores start back on Monday, the rest of us start Tuesday."

I shrugged. "Call me crazy, but I usually like school. It's been a bit harder here, because of taking so many advanced classes back in Phoenix. The regular classes cover so much that I've learned before."

"And Embry's coming to school in Forks, isn't he?"

"For part of the day."

"Planning to sneak off for some self-study?" Jess winked suggestively.

"Planning, no," I shook my head. "But if it happens, it happens. Just so long as we don't get caught. My dad likes Embry, and getting called out to the school because we got busted for public indecency wouldn't help that good feeling last."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But you've got to let him give you some PDA. That-and his size now-just might finally make an impression with all those guys that can't stop pestering you."

"Just so long as he doesn't get suspended or expelled for fighting them."

"He isn't like that, though-is he?"

"No... But he did go after Jake the other day when Jake exploded over Embry and me and sex."

"Love triangle, huh?"

"Only in Jake's mind. They hadn't been on good terms anyway, but Jake really lost it when he got me to admit that Embry and I had had sex."

"And now they know they're brothers…Ouch."

"Yeah. Going to the same school, having the same friends, being related…I know they're going to have to work it all out, I just have no idea how it can actually happen."

Realizing that there wasn't anything that could be said, Angela distracted all of us by suggesting a shopping trip to Port Angeles this weekend to get new outfits for the first day of school. I wasn't usually big on clothes shopping—shades of Alice Cullen—but it did sound like a fun trip with friends. Plus, I could put my statement about buying boxers for Embry into practice—and maybe even find something for myself as well—I had a feeling he'd like both.

When Embry texted me that he was back at my place, I made my excuses to leave. "I've got to go. Embry's waiting on my front porch and said he's hungry for lunch."

"Yeah, I just bet he is," teased Jess. We all laughed.

"Probably. But I think I'm too sore for another repeat so soon."

"An appetizer, then. There's lots he can do to make you feel better-or you can always return the favor," she winked at me in teasing reminder of our earlier demonstration session.

"I guess I can consider some kind of dessert."

On my way home, I finally called Emily Uley back to find out what she had to tell me that was so important that she was leaving me voicemails and using other people as intermediaries.

"Hi, Emily, it's Bella. I'm sorry I didn't get any of your messages until this morning. I had my phone on silent with everything that was going on."

"That's alright, Bella. I just felt really bad that Kim and I forgot to make sure that you got told one important part of being an imprint."

I listened silently as Emily explained that Embry's wolf would one day insist on marking me to display his claim. When I learned how it was done...

"I already get enough attention for the bite mark on my wrist. Now I get one on my neck, too?"

"I've noticed that you seem to wear your hair down a lot-that will help hide the mating mark. I think that someone here on the rez would be a good-enough leatherworker that they could probably make you a cuff of some sort that could hide the wrist scar."

"Okay. Thanks."

"How do you feel about this, though?"

"With knowing that kids are a 'when' and not an 'if'?" I sighed. I'd never been one of those girls who fussed obsessively over any babies in my vicinity, and with how I'd felt like a parent to my own mom a lot of the time...I hadn't ever really thought too much about whether or not I wanted to have kids of my own. For that matter, I'd never been too enthused over the subject of marriage, either-but I suspected that might be changing before long. With Embry's parents having never been married or officially together, he was sure to be a lot more sensitive about doing everything the right way himself. So if I was willing to consider marrying Embry, was it much more of a stretch to think of having children with him? "I guess I could get used to the idea. But would our children be accepted? Like someone said last night: I'm as white as vanilla ice cream, and Embry's only half-Quileute. Wouldn't our kids be teased or looked down on?"

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen, Bella," Emily vowed.

Privately, I had my doubts that anyone—even the Alpha's mate—could make that kind of promise. After all, people had been talking negatively about Embry dating me already, and that would probably just get worse once they knew he was Billy's unclaimed half-Quileute son. Any children Embry and I would have would only be half-native—one quarter Quileute and one quarter Makah. I remembered things Angela had said when Embry and I had first started dating, about her own mixed heritage, and how some people on both sides of the situation would never accept it. I sighed. Having been the subject of enough small town gossip myself, I knew that talk would happen no matter what. There'd been nothing I could do about it before, and there wouldn't be anything I could do in the future. I'd just have to deal with it when it eventually happened.

"Thanks, Emily. I'm almost home so I'd better go and focus on getting lunch ready."

"Okay. If it's alright, I'll call you later to discuss the menu for the bonfire we'll be having tomorrow night. Will you have time to make something to bring?"

"Sure. We can talk later about what I can do to help."

I ended the call and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat of my car in time to pull into my driveway. Embry unfolded himself into a standing position on the front porch.

"Have a good time with the girls?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I did. How about you and Paul?"

"It was okay. I'll tell you about it over lunch."

"And I'll share my morning for dessert."


	46. Dessert

The all mighty and powerfulM: Thanks. I'm trying to cut down on these long gaps between updates. Got a start on this chapter even before posting the last one, so that may have helped.

Guest: You can tell me how much you love my Paul as often as you want to. He's quite the character.

Guest(2): Dessert is a wonderful meal. Enjoy.

AN: Congrats to reviewer Cara for giving review #1200 on FF, and to for review #400 on Tricky Raven.

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Embry POV

As I followed Bella into her house, I considered her words "And I'll share my morning for dessert." For dessert? Didn't she mean _during_ dessert? I temporarily forgot about it in favor of devoting my full attention to the plate of food she set in front of me. It was piled high with sandwiches, chips and fresh vegetables relegated to a separate plate. Despite the extreme inequity in our portion sizes, we both finished eating at the same time.

"Want dessert?" Bella asked. The question seemed ordinary, until I got a good look at her bright eyes, heard her heartbeat accelerate, and smelled the beginnings of arousal. Then I got it.

"Oh, _dessert_. But you-"

"There's more than one kind of dessert, Embry. You can decide if you want yours in the living room or in my bedroom."

Instantly, I was hard as a rock. "Where would you prefer?"

Bella debated before saying, "The living room might be better, but Charlie could also come home-"

I pointed to the blinking light on the answering machine. "He called and left the message just before you got back. He won't be coming home for lunch since he went in a little bit late this morning."

"Living room, then. I'll just get dessert ready, and you can go get comfortable."

Comfortable? The three-legged walk I did from the kitchen to the living room was damned uncomfortable, I discovered. Yet at the same time, it was a rush to wonder just what Bella had planned for me. I ended up choosing the couch to sit on, after spreading a light blanket over the entire piece of furniture, just in case. Bella's footsteps made me look her way.

"You're not relaxed yet," she chided. "Strip."

"Baby, everything I'm feeling and sensing right now...relaxed isn't the word I'd use." With a glance at the thankfully closed window blinds, I unfastened my shorts and lifted my butt off the couch enough to slide them down to the floor. Bella kicked them away, and pushed my knees apart enough so that she could kneel on the floor in front of me. My heart was pounding in my chest at what was about to happen. Part of me felt bad that Bella was going to do this for me when I couldn't reciprocate. But I didn't tell her 'no' for two reasons; she was my imprint and wanted to do this, for one part, and because I was a guy whose girl was about to suck his cock, for the other. Even though I tried to exert control, my legs still trembled as Bella laid her hands on my thighs and leaned close. The gentle exhale of her breath made my cock twitch. Trying not to come from sheer anticipation, I tried to find something else to focus on-which was an epic fail as soon as I realized what Bella had brought in with her: a bowl of ice cream, a bottle of chocolate sauce, and a steaming mug of something-everything that had come up in her and Paul's banana conversation yesterday morning. I had to shoot my hand down and squeeze my balls to avoid exploding on the spot.

_"Fuck!"_ I groaned.

"Not exactly, but maybe the next best thing," Bella purred. Her hand reached up to take hold of my length and she bent her head to lap at the leaking pre-cum beading up on my tip. I struggled to lock my muscles in place—to not choke Bella—but my hips jerked upward, driving my cock into her mouth. Bella's lips closed around me and she sucked.

"Fuck, fuck, fuuucckkk..." the moans slipped out from lips I was biting near to bloody. Cool air hit my cock; my eyes opened the barest slit to see Bella making a selection from the tray she'd brought: chocolate syrup. Upending the bottle, she began squirting syrup along my length, lifting it upward to drizzle on the underside. Dropping the bottle to the floor, my imprint began the task of licking up each drop of chocolate. I had no prayer of stopping the bucking of my hips up into her mouth as she cleaned me up. Not then or when she took a drink from the hot mug and then swallowed me down-it was almost, but not nearly as good, as being buried in the heat between her legs. Neither could I stop a deeper oral fucking when she switched to the ice cream-that nearly 100 degree temperature swing was damned brutal.

"Are you planning to apply to the CIA after graduation?" my growl might have been more impressive if it wasn't so choked. "You-torture."

"Then don't fight it."

I couldn't, not anymore, not when Bella went down on me and started fondling my balls at the same time. I exploded into her mouth, feeling her muscles contract as she swallowed as much of my cum as she could, the rest leaking out the sides of her mouth. My body sank deeper into the couch cushions, completely boneless in the aftermath of that amazing orgasm.

"Are you okay?" asked Bella.

"Okay? That's like the understatement of the millennium."

"So that was good?"

Somehow, I found the strength to sit up and reach down to pull Bella up from the floor onto my lap. "Baby, that was beyond good. That was absolutely incredible." I kissed Bella, sampling our mingled flavors on her lips.

"Thank you. I'm glad—I wanted you to like it."

"I love it. But, seriously, _t__hat_ was your morning?"

"Part of it," Bella admitted. "Jess...is a good teacher. I thought I'd done okay the first time-doing that for you-but I didn't want it to just have been beginner's luck. Not if there could be an audience."

"There won't be. Paul tested the order out for me this morning and it worked-the guys won't be seeing anything."

After parting company briefly-Bella to clean up the lunch and dessert stuff and me to take a shower-we watched movies the rest of the afternoon until Bella's dad came home.

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Jacob POV

Even though I didn't want to, I headed home after an afternoon of running the patrol loops with Quil. The woods had always been a place of peace. Even more than that, being a wolf pushed a lot of thoughts to the background. Animal instincts didn't care about human things like emotions and motives. Facing my dad was-yet again-the last thing I wanted to do, yet at the same time I was determined to do it-and with Sam's gag order now lifted, I actually _could _talk. But what should-could-I say? Was I really going to be able to handle the answers?

More than dealing with Dad...I had no clue how to deal with Embry now, either. He wasn't just my lifelong best friend-a friend I'd been really shitty toward for the past few weeks, but he was my brother. My _brother. _I'd always wanted a brother and hadn't been happy not to get one. I guess that's part of why I was always so close to Embry and Quil: subconsiously seeing them as substitutes for the brother I'd lacked. Now it turns out that Embry really is part of my family. Family. Shit! What were my sisters going to say? My aunts? Crap. I had a few first cousins, but they were younger than me-too young to have the phase triggered yet, so none of my aunts knew anything about the pack or anything else supernatural. How would we explain how Dad's secret had gotten exposed? What would they all think about this? _Why the hell didn't Dad just acknowledge Embry from the start and prevent this whole mess from happening? _ An image of Embry's face from last night flashed into my mind-what he'd looked like at almost the very moment that he realized just what his mom-what _our_ dad-had kept secret from him all these years. Even though I knew Embry had been on patrol this morning, Paul was the only one waiting for Quil and me in the pack mind when we phased in. He'd reported that nothing had been seen or scented and was gone before I had a chance to ask him anything else. I only caught a quick memory of Embry running to Bella's house and phasing out before I could come on duty. Not that I blamed him-just a few days ago, I'd tried to kill him for sleeping with Bella. No way was he going to want to spend any time around me if he could help it. Neither of them would. Unfortunately, I was back to the same problem I'd had before: wanting and needing to make amends, but not being given the time or proximity to do it. Great. Just great.

My house came into view, my feet slowing automatically. I could hear Dad's heartbeat and the squeak of his chair's wheels. I told myself to man up and act like a descendant of Taha Aki and Ephraim Black, then pushed open the door and walked inside.

"Jake."

"Dad." I had no intentions at all of making this easy for him. So I just sat there in silence, with what I hoped was Sam's poker face firmly in place. No way was I going to give Dad anything until he'd told me everything. From how he'd cheated on Mom, to why he'd never claimed Embry-I needed to know it all. Didn't want to, really-but needed to.

Dad was quiet for a long time. Maybe trying to think of what to say, or maybe hoping I'd start talking first. But I wasn't going to help him out, other than, "You have things to say and I have things to hear. No time like the present."

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Narrator POV

"How'd it go?" Sam asked.

Paul drained half his can of pop before replying, "Pretty good. Seems like Embry picks things up fairly quickly. Not ready to go solo yet or anything, but he's doing fine with the wolf stuff."

"And the rest of it?" Sam picked up on what Paul hadn't said.

"Quicksand," was the succinct answer. "You ordered him not to hurt his mom...well, you might want to add Billy to that order. Man, Embry is pissed. No excuse Billy can ever offer will be enough for Embry, seems like, and no punishment come close to covering a lifetime of rejection."

"I don't blame him," admitted Sam. "I've got enough issues of my own where Joshua is concerned to know exactly where Embry's coming from. If I were being a mature and responsible Alpha, I'd tell Embry the same stuff I told Jake about accepting things even if he doesn't like them-but I'm not. At least for now, I'm going to let Embry work through this however he needs to."

"And if that means him laying into Jake again?"

"Part of Jake's punishment?"

Paul snorted. "It's a nice thought, but..."

"I know. It won't help them get along any better."

"Uh, nope. Keeping them apart might help, at least until they've had a chance to process everything. Hopefully Embry won't use Jake as a scapegoat for what he'd like to do to Billy."

"I know. But I don't know that it can be avoided-them being in proximity to each other. Small reservation and even smaller pack."

"Having Quil give the heads-up so Embry could phase out first helped today. Might not always be possible, I know. Wonder...you might just give them an Alpha order to keep things professional during shift changes. The order to keep Embry's thoughts about Bella private works, so this one probably would, too-at least until they didn't need it anymore."

"Huh. I honestly wasn't sure that it would work, even with what you said earlier. Glad it did-that'll be one less thing causing trouble."

"Yeah. Quil's gonna really be mad when he finds out, though. I think he was really hoping to get some juicy details-or some good wanking visuals."

"Gah. Then Embry would have been pounding on _him._"

"True. Someone ought to let Jared know, so you can give him the same order. Kim'll be thrilled."

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Embry POV

It was hard walking away from Bella after dinner. But I couldn't push things with her dad by trying to stay another night. Plus, there was stuff I needed to know that only Mom could tell me. Whether I believed what Billy had told Charlie last night or not, at least now I knew one side of the story. I owed it to myself and Mom to get her side, too.

Mom was waiting for me when I walked inside the house. She was tired, disheveled, and had clearly spent the night crying and not sleeping. However mad I was at the whole fucked up mess that my life was now-except for the part that Bella occupied-I couldn't be mad at my mom. I pulled her into my arms and held tight; we just stood there for a while in silence.

"How did it happen?" I finally asked. Mom pushed against my chest and I let her go. She disappeared into the bathroom for a minute-probably washing her face from the sound of it. When she came back, we both sat down on the couch.

"I was seventeen and in Port Angeles with a group of people from the reservation-all looking for summer jobs. Part of the group was older, and they got fake IDs for the rest of us so that the younger part of the group could get into the bars with them. It was exciting and we didn't really think or talk about how illegal it was-and no getting any ideas about trying the same thing, got it?" I nodded, but didn't bother to mention that with my new looks I probably wouldn't have to worry about anyone wanting to check my age.

"Then I met a native man in the bar-tall, big, good looking, alone. We got to talking, and that continued over a number of evenings...weeks. We talked about our reservations, jobs, music, just ordinary stuff. One night he was drinking a lot more than usual and somehow I ended up drinking, too. We ended up back in his little studio apartment having sex. That night led to others. He was everything a girl could dream of and my dreams starting flying really high. One day I got a quick call from him that he was leaving because of a family emergency and probably wouldn't be coming back. I was hurt and upset, but my group was going home soon anyway, so I just tried to accept my first adult heartbreak. After I was back home at Neah Bay, I started getting sick. I was young and inexperienced and didn't realize what it meant. My mom did, though. She handed me a pregnancy test kit and told me to use it-it was positive. My father was furious. I'd shamed him, our family, and the tribe by getting pregnant with a stranger's baby. He wanted me to have an abortion, but I refused. When I did, he disowned me and threw me out. The only thing I could think to do was find your father-even though he had taken precautions every time we were together, surely he would take us in and we'd be a family. So I took the bus here and ate in the cafe by the beach while I tried to figure out how to locate him. Before I left, I heard some women talking.

(flashback)

"I don't know how Sarah Black does it. Takes care of that new baby, with the twins running around."

"And that on top of Billy going out fishing all day and then helping his mom and sisters out once he comes back."

"Sarah knew what she was getting into when she married the chief's son-with his father gone now, Billy has to step up."

(end flashback)

"I was crushed. He'd been my only hope and now I learned he had a wife and three children... The woman who ran the cafe saw me crying and asked if she could help. I don't know how she got me talking, but I ended up telling her my story-but not mentioning that my baby's father was here. She drove me to a house-Billy's, as it turned out. His friend, Quil IV, was there, too, and he suggested I be made welcome since I had nowhere to go. They arranged a place for me to stay and a job for support myself."

"Payment for your silence?" I choked out.

"No. Billy talked to me privately later-said he'd never meant for any of it to happen. He had his family, his father had just died, and his mom and sisters depended on him. He was tribal chief now and all the expectations...

"Selfish bastard," I growled to hear the excuses that Billy had used to avoid taking responsibility for Mom and me. Mom flinched but touched my arm.

"Yes, it was selfish for him to say all that-but it didn't mean that it wasn't true. I could have said something, made a public scene-but I didn't want to be branded as a home-wrecking floozy. Sarah Black didn't deserve to be humiliated like that, and neither did I. I thought Billy would help us in secret and maybe one day accept you. He didn't, though-not as anything more than his son's friend. Even after his wife died...

"It's not your fault, Mom," I assured her. "He lied to you and then didn't man up."

"In the end, I just accepted how things were and would be. I focused on being the best parent to you that I could-and I've never regretted that. I just wish I'd known that what you inherited from him would shred our lives like it has."

There wasn't really anything to say to that. Whatever had or hadn't been wanted, I had been affected by my Quileute inheritance. The question now was how I'd let this affect me. Mom had obviously risen above what had happened-though a part of me wished she'd found a new guy to really make Billy regret how he'd treated her. Maybe she still could-Mom's only in her mid-30's now, so she's still young-for a mom. It wasn't that I felt like I had to have a dad-I'd managed okay without one all my life. If I really needed a father-figure, I had Sam now, and maybe even Bella's dad-as long as he didn't find out what I was up to with his daughter.

I had all the answers now, and they didn't help anything worth a damn. My _father_ hadn't been faithful to his wife when it mattered, and then had only made it worse by being too faithful to her when he ought to have stepped up and acted responsible. He'd apparently cared more about his image and what people would think and say than he'd cared about the child—me—who'd resulted from his affair. The wolf rose inside me, almost demanding retribution. But I forced him down. I wasn't going to sink to Billy's level. He'd never cared about me? Fine, I can easily return the favor now.

"Embry?"

"I'm okay, Mom. Or at least I'm going to try to be okay. I hope you'll be okay, too. I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time about this—you were right that knowing wasn't going to be the magic bullet that everyone, including me, thought it would be."

"I do wish the circumstances had been different, but, Embry…I've never regretted having you."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm going to get some sleep. I'll be out with Paul again tomorrow and then there'll be a bonfire with…with the pack."

I hugged her goodnight and went to my room. I curled up on my bed and cried myself to sleep.


	47. Bonfire

LennieM: (From ch. 43): Yeah, I like Paul's parents, too. I figured that for Paul to have the personality that he does, he probably got it from one or both of his parents. And I did set it up nicely earlier with Paul's comment about his mom and crazy boxer shorts, so I just had to explore that more.

AN: Deep apologies for the long delay in updating. I have been really busy recently (with little to no time to write), and on top of that had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to include in this bonfire (so that it wasn't just a copy of the ones I wrote for "The Wolf and His Girl"). But I think/hope that I've got it figured out and we can start moving on from the stunned aftermath of the bombshell and into the wide-awake reality of the present. Hope this turned out alright. Looking forward to seeing what you think.

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Bella POV

Friday passed pretty slowly, even though I was busy for most of it. My dad had given the thumbs up to me going shopping with Angela and Jessica-and acting like a girly girl by going shopping-so much so that he'd said he was going to stop by the bank on his way to work and transfer money into my account for me to spend. I was surprisingly interested in the experience this time and in finding things that Embry would like to see me wear. If I could keep from combusting in embarrassment, I might even dart into the menswear section and grab a pair of boxers for Embry. As I could have predicted-and in fact had done just that-Jess started grilling me the moment we passed Forks' city limits.

"So? Have you done any homework?"

"Homework?" I played dumb. "Jess, school doesn't start until next week. Hence our 'Back to School' clothes shopping trip today."

"Bella! You know perfectly well what I meant. Did you practice the skills you learned in my 'Going Down' lesson yet?"

"Jess!"

"What? Inquiring minds want to know. So, did you?"

"Yes..."

"And?"

"Got a grade of A+."

"Bravo!" cheered Jess.

"Along with a career recommendation of CIA torturer," the word-vomit was involuntary.

"Deets, girl. Give us all the deets!" she commanded. I didn't quite do that-if Embry's pack brothers weren't going to get all the juicy details, then neither would my friends. But I did share enough for both Jess and Angela to confirm that Embry's career suggestion had been a good one.

At the mall, we perused store after store, browsing the racks and making notes of promising items, then going back and trying on the favorites. I had a good time, which surprised me. We turned it into a mini fashion show, which was somehow nothing like the Bella Barbie days that Alice had put me through. It took less time than I might have thought to accumulate a number of outfits from the assortment of clothing items I'd found. Tops and jeans that were more fitted than before, and shoes that weren't my standard Converse sneakers-though they would still be safe enough for my clumsy tendencies. I was doing it for me, most of all-new year, new outlook-but I'd be a liar to claim that Embry's reaction didn't factor into more than one choice that I made. As we headed toward the checkout area Jess caught my glance at the menswear section.

"Anything else you want to look for, Bella?" she teased.

Caught out, I blushed a little, but explained the whole situation with Paul and the boxers, and the exchange I'd had with Paul's mom about buying things for Embry.

"That Paul sounds like quite a character. Oh, you can have so much fun with that!" and through brute strength Jess pulled me toward the appropriate section. The department store's selection wasn't quite what she'd hoped for, but she still started pulling items off the shelves and racks. I couldn't help cringing. Maybe I'd have the nerve to give Embry something risqué eventually, but now? Not a chance. I did still find a pair of funny 'Where's Waldo?' boxers for him that I felt a lot more comfortable about.

"Let me work up to that other stuff, Jess," I begged, shoving her picks back into her arms.

"Okay. I guess it's alright to start small. These are okay, but they put the really good stuff out around Christmas and Valentine's Day, anyway. So just stock up then."

Mercifully the shopping trip was now over. Angela had to get home to babysit her younger twin brothers, and I had to get food going to take to the cookout and bonfire tonight. I couldn't wait to see Embry again. By the time I got down to La Push today, we'd be up to about 12 hours apart. Even though we'd done that length of time-and even a bit longer-before, it seemed different now. Maybe it was having the imprint and knowing about it. Or just knowing now what sex was like. Whatever it was, I wanted to see my boyfriend, my lover, my wolf.

Back at home, I spun into action prepping food to take down to the cookout. Emily had sent me an email listing out what everyone else involved was going to be bringing and making suggestions about what I might contribute. Due to how much time I'd spent in Port Angeles, I ended up taking a few shortcuts and getting some of the food already prepared from the grocery store. I figured the guys would eat it even if some of it wasn't homemade.

Checking the clock and the status of my food offerings, I decided I was almost ready to leave. A quick freshening up in the bathroom, then I loaded my car and started down the highway.

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Embry POV

The second patrol with Paul went just fine. He showed me a few new things and had me practice what I'd learned before.

_Doing good,_ he told me. _You pick things up fast._

_Guess so. _I'd always been smart and good in school.

He was quiet for a while before asking, _How are you doing?_

_You just said I was doing fine._

_With the wolf stuff, yeah. With Bella...that's a given-the imprint won't let you do anything else. We both know I meant the rest of it._

_I haven't torn either of them to shreds, have I?_

_Nope. Billy and Jake probably deserve it, but just think of the mess it would cause._

I really didn't care about the mess aspect-I just knew that Bella wouldn't want me to do it, or my mom, either. She'd raised me better than that. And it probably wouldn't go over too well with my girlfriend's cop dad if I killed his best friend and the guy's son. I wasn't about to even think about forgiving or forgetting with either of _them,_ but I could at least decide to be the better man. _Not gonna sink that low._

_Good. Dead, it's over for them. Alive, they have to face it all. I wouldn't blame you for dealing out a little payback: dark looks, pointed thoughts or words...just don't lose who you are in the process, Embry, okay? Bitter and angry...that's not who you are-and you don't want to become that person, either._

_Thanks. Don't want to or plan to. But...haul me back if you see me going too far._

After patrol, I tried to make things up to Mom by doing stuff around the house. I mowed the yard, took out the trash-not a hardship with the sensitive nose I now possessed-and cleaned up some. I felt like I owed it to her, but I was also killing time until the bonfire and Bella. Finally, I got the call that my Bella was on her way down from Forks. I'd probably get in trouble for shadowing her car in wolf form, and someone might notice if I arrived in Bella's car when no one had seen me leave the rez, so I tried to satisfy myself with pacing the beachfront parking lot until she arrived. I hadn't quite gotten to the point of actually creating a groove in the pavement when my heart began to pound and a feeling of relief swept through me. When Bella's car turned into the parking lot, I was already covering the distance between us. The door opening sent a wave of her scent washing over me. Almost without realizing it, I picked Bella up and pressed her against the side of her car, anchoring her there with my body. Our lips met in a fierce and passionate kiss that quickly threatened to get out of control. With supreme effort, I broke that contact before we put on a show for anyone who might be watching. Not that the wolf would be bothered if someone saw him caring for his mate, but _I_ cared about the idea of someone seeing my Bella that way-or of me adding something new to the list of local rumors about the pack. My head dropped to press my face against the crook of her neck, breathing deeply of her scent to try and get myself under control. Neither of us moved-or wanted to-content to stay just as we were and savor our embrace.

"Hey, lovebirds," Quil's voice intruded into our bubble. Without lifting my head or turning toward him, I lifted one hand off the car's roof and then lowered all but one finger-just like Wolverine did with his claws in X-Men. "That's not nice," Quil sounded offended. "Here I come to offer my services as a pack mule, and this is the thanks I get for it?"

"You might leave this parking lot with the food Bella brought," I retorted, "but the question would be how much of that food would reach the beach rather than your stomach."

"Geez," gripped Quil, though he didn't argue my point.

"Are we late?" Bella asked hazily. My wolf puffed up to know that it had taken her this long to pull her thoughts back together enough to be able to speak.

"Nah. We're still missing some people. Now, maybe you would have ended up being late if I hadn't come by," Quil's tone was suggestive, "but no, you're okay."

With reluctance, I stepped back from Bella, but didn't let go of her until I was sure she was steady on her feet.

"What do you need our pack mule here to do?" I jerked my thumb Quil's direction. He sputtered in mock protest, but let Bella load him down with the stuff she'd made. We all walked down to the beach and found Emily and Kim starting to set up the spread on tables that the other guys must have hauled down for the purpose.

"Bella!" Emily greeted her with obvious pleasure, and then did the same for me. "Embry, I'm happy you're here."

"Thanks," I kept my reply simple. "Where do you want Quil to put Bella's food?"

Relieved of his burdens, Quil suggested tossing a football while we waited for everyone else to arrive. I didn't object to the activity, though I didn't want to leave Bella's side. She shooed me away, though.

"I'll be right here, and I'll be fine. You go have some fun while I help Emily and Kim get everything ready."

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Sam POV

Jared and I phased back from patrol and followed the wafting aromas of food toward our beach feast. As we emerged from the forest onto the sand, I noted that the rest of my pack was there-minus Jacob, who would be bringing his father down. The three imprints were clustered by the food tables, and Embry and Quil were tossing a football back and forth a short distance down the beach. I suspected that it was only his newly enhanced senses and reflexes keeping Embry in the game-his eyes were focused far more on Bella than they were on the ball. It didn't matter now, though; he let the ball drop to the sand and moved to rejoin Bella as Jared and I headed that way. We greeted our imprints first and then the newest wolf and his imprint.

"Welcome. The elders should be here soon. We'll eat, and then they'll tell the stories."

"What kind of stories?" asked Bella.

"The origins of the tribe and of the protectors. I think you'll enjoy them-both of you." Two heads nodded.

Footfalls heralded the arrival of the council members and Jacob. Embry stiffened and deliberately didn't turn to look. He pulled Bella close to him-the wolf's instinctive gesture to protect his mate from the brother wolf who'd wanted her.

Old Quil surveyed the spread that covered both tables. "The food looks delicious. My compliments to those who worked to provide this."

The elders filled their plates first, then the imprints; the pack went last to ensure that the others actually got some of the food. Embry deliberately-and obviously-kept himself as a buffer between Bella and Jacob, and then claimed a spot for the two of them that was almost as far away from the two Black's as it was possible to get-but it wasn't the absolute farthest spot, which would have been directly opposite Billy across the circle. Billy didn't react-just kept on ignoring Embry the way he'd done all of the boy's life. Jake, though...he kept glancing over at Embry and Bella almost wistfully. Not that either of them ever looked his way to notice, though. I decided to be grateful for the Cold War atmosphere there-much better than the alternative that we'd already experienced.

As usual at any event where the pack was present, the food was demolished in short order. I was pleased to see that Embry was being as solicitous of his mate as Jared and I were of ours-at least one thing around here was going well right now. All the little gestures and glances that imprinted mates shared were fully in evidence, which seemed to please Old Quil and Sue Clearwater. Harry was accepting of the Embry and Bella situation, it appeared, though he was sending troubled glances Billy's direction.

Even though Billy usually told the stories at the introductory bonfires, this it was Old Quil who gestured for silence after plates had been collected and dumped in the trashcan. Satisfied, he began to speak. He spoke of Q'waeti, and how he had traveled around this area creating each tribe and teaching them how to act and live: the Queets, Hoh, Makah, and the Quileute.

"_Then Q'waeti' went on and reached the Quileute land. He saw two wolves. There were no people here. Then Q'waeti' transformed the wolves into people. Then he instructed the people saying: 'The common man will have only one wife. Only a chief may have four or eight wives. For this reason you Quileute shall be brave, because you come from wolves,' said Q'waeti'. 'In every manner you shall be strong.'" _

"_Then Q'waeti' reached the Ozette people, that we today call the Makah. There he saw two dogs. Then he transformed the dogs into people. Then Q'waeti' gave instructions to the people how to search around the rocks for devil-fish, and to get all kinds of sea food. Then Q'waeti' went on."_

"_Then he came to the Neah people. He saw many people. The people did not know how to fish. So, the Neah people were hungry, about to perish. Then Q'waeti' instructed one person how they should fish. Q'waeti' instructed them how to troll when trying to fish. Ever since then there is much fish in Neah Bay. When Q'waeti' finished he said that there would be much fish at Neah Bay."_

'Descended from wolves'," Bella whispered after Old Quil had fallen silent, clearly remembering the stories Jake had told her, connecting this tale of our origins to the reality of the pack.

"Yes," Harry agreed. He shifted on his log seat, took a deep breath, and started his own story.

"_In the beginning, the tribe settled in this harbor and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the tribe was small, and the harbor was rich in fish. There were others who coveted our land, and we were too small to hold it. A larger tribe moved against us, and we took to our ships to escape them."_

"_Kaheleha was not the first spirit warrior, but we do not remember the stories that came before his. We do not remember who was the first to discover this power, or how it had been used before this crisis. Kaheleha was the first great Spirit Chief in our history. In this emergency, Kaheleha used the magic to defend our land. He and all his warriors left the ship—not their bodies, but their spirits…"_

"_Generations passed. Then came the last great Spirit Chief, Taha Aki. He was known for his wisdom, and for being a man of peace. The people lived well and content in his care. But there was one man, Utlapa, who was not content. He was powerful, but grasping. He thought the people should use their magic to expand their lands and enslave their neighbors. Taha Aki saw what he dreamed and commanded Utlapa to leave—he did so, but watched and waited for a chance for revenge."_

As often happened when the stories were told, they seemed to come to life in the flames at the center of our circle. Utlapa's murder of his own body after taking over Taha Aki's empty body. How Taha Aki had shared the body of a wolf until he became human again to defeat Utlapa. And then how he and his sons had continued to guard the tribe as spirit wolves for many lifetimes.

I focused my attention on Embry and Bella for the remainder of Harry's story, watching them hear how Taha Aki and his pack had destroyed a Cold One, and how Taha Aki's third wife had helped him kill the Cold One's mate at the cost of her own life. Both wolf and imprint shivered, clearly seeing the parallels between the story and their own recent encounter with a vampire.

The final tale of the evening was mine: that of the last pack to exist before our own.

"Seventy years ago, a bigger coven came. Our great-grandfathers prepared to fight them off, but the leader spoke to Ephraim Black and promised not to harm the Quileutes. Ephraim accepted their offer of a treaty. They have stayed true to their side—not biting a human to change them—and the tribe has kept its side—remaining silent about the Cullen's and what they are. Even now, when their presence forced a larger pack than the tribe has ever seen. The sons of our tribe again carry the burden and share the sacrifice their fathers endured before them."

I looked around the circle, drawing everyone's eyes to meet mine as my gaze swept each member of my audience. I held Embry's eyes longest, wanting him to be absolutely sure that I counted him as one of us. My contact with Billy lasted only a few seconds before his eyes dropped down to his lap, but I left him in no doubt about my feelings on his conduct regarding his unclaimed son—a son no less deserving of Billy's worry than Jacob was. It wasn't likely to change things, but I still did it.

After the stories, I pulled the pack aside for a few minutes to hand out the new patrol assignments. "Quil, you'll take the first half of the night shift, and Jake, you'll take the second half and be done by the time school starts. Jared and I will split the day shifts. Embry, you'll come on after you get out of school. I'll run with you for a while, just until you're ready to go solo. Paul, you'll take the evenings until Quil comes on. I know this does mean that everyone-including the new wolves-will be running solo, but it's the best way I can think of to ensure equality. If you're not on patrol, just keep an ear out if you're close, and phase in if you hear a howl."

"What if we're in school then?" Quil wanted to know.

"Either Jared or I will be on patrol then. Whichever of us isn't will phase in and get an update. If you hear a second howl, then you can get out of class and come help," I directed my reply to all four of the student wolves.

"Sam, you want me to come on duty early for a few days and buddy with Embry?" Paul asked. "He's picking things up fast, so it wouldn't be for long, but I can do it if you think it'll help."

"I won't insist on it, but if you're up for it, sure. That okay with you, Embry? Paul says you're doing great at picking up the wolf stuff, so it isn't that any of us think you _need_ the help, but…well, I would have liked to have someone around with me in the beginning."

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Good. Okay, everyone, let's get the rest of our stuff cleaned up and head out. Quil, go ahead and phase. No time like the present to start the new schedule."

Quil nodded and made for the treeline. Jared and Paul moved to extinguish the bonfire and check for any stray trash. Then Jacob approached Embry for the first time tonight. I stayed close but decided not to interfere unless I had to-the two of them were going to have to be able to interact with each other without me or someone else babysitting them all the time and this was an opportunity to see how things might go.

"Do you need something, Jacob?" Embry's tone carried the clear suggestion that it would be better for the other youth if he said 'no'.

"I just-I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for what I said. Sorry for what I did. I was way out of line to both you and Bella. And I'm sorry for what Dad _didn't_ say and do."

"He tell you to say that?" Embry growled. "Your dad tell you to apologize to me?" Bitterness dripped from his voice. _Jacob's_ father, not Embry's.

"No, he didn't. He should, but-"

"You think I care about that? I don't give a flying flip off the cliffs about him. Its years too late for him to have any right to expect that. I'm not going to jump to attention just because of an unwilling acknowledgement from a selfish sperm-donor."

"I don't blame you. I'm pissed at him, too."

"Ask me if I care. You want to be pissed at your dad, you go right ahead. No difference to me one way or the other."

"Emb..."

"I don't care. About him...you...any of it. Doesn't matter. He can go to hell, and you can just stay out of my way."

Embry spun around, his long strides eating up the distance to where Bella stood with the other imprints. Jacob stared after him briefly before heading over to where his father sat waiting in his wheelchair.

"Well, that went well," Paul snorted.

"All things considered...yeah, I guess that was pretty good," I agreed. "Keep an eye on them at school, okay? You and Quil." I sighed. "Probably a good thing on more than one level that Embry's going to be at Forks High half of each day."

"Keeps him near Bella...and away from Jake. Yeah, a really good thing."

As Emily and I got ready for bed that night, I mentally reminded myself to tell Jared to swing by the school at least once on his shift, just to check on Embry; I'd be doing the same thing in the afternoons when he was at Forks High. He seemed to have pretty impressive control so far, but I wasn't so far removed from high school myself to have forgotten how mean, cruel, and downright vicious teenagers could be when they wanted to. Judging by what I'd seen today, I expected that Embry would be able to hold his own against the students of both Forks and La Push, but I wasn't Alpha to take unnecessary chances.

Quileute origin story found at:

The stories about the Quileute wolf packs told by Harry and Sam come from chapter 11 of "Eclipse".


	48. Day at the Lake

The all mighty and powerfulM: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Glad you enjoyed the latest update and hope you'll like this one, too.

AN: Thanks to Feebes for giving me a great idea for the group's end-of-summer activity. Hope my readers enjoy it-and my apologies for taking her idea and running away with it (or it running away with me) and taking longer to post this chapter than I'd planned. I'll hopefully be able to post a little more frequently now that I have the weight of a 6+ month work project off my shoulders-but no guarantees, with a busy life in general, the holidays, and other work projects looming. As always, though, I promise not to abandon my stories, so they will be completed sooner or later.

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Bella POV

Embry and I left the beach bonfire-thankfully without any blows being exchanged between him and Jacob, and I drove to his house. On the way, my phone chimed to signal a new text message, and Embry fished the phone out of my purse to check the message.

"It's from Angela," he told me. "Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Newton are taking their boat up to Lake Crescent tomorrow and anyone who wants to come is welcome. End-of-summer thing. Angela said she gave them a tentative 'yes' for us but we don't have to go if we don't want to."

"A day at the lake..." I mused

"It does sound fun," Embry admitted, "but spending that day with a leering Mike Newton?"

"I know: not my favorite idea, either. We can try to keep our distance from him as much as possible. When we can't...you intimidated Mike plenty even before you-" I broke off, not remembering what the right word to use was.

Embry supplied it. "Phased."

"Right. Like I was saying, you intimidated Mike before you phased, so I bet he'll be even more cowed now. And I'll be right with you so he won't get under your skin. But the lake is something different for us to do that's still close by. We've done the beach at La Push, we've done Port Angeles...okay, we haven't taken a trip to Seattle, but it would take more time just to drive there and back than we'd be able to actually spend in the city."

"Yeah. But a day of hiking and physical activities? I know that's not your favorite thing to do."

"I'm not opposed to all physical activities," I objected. Embry's slow grin warmed me from head to toe-he knew just what I was talking about. "I know you'll take care of me." And I had no doubts about that. Whether it was from depression, leering schoolmates, crazy vampires, or just the simple fact of him being my boyfriend, Embry had never let me down.

"Always. And in all ways."

I barely had time to call Angela back to say we'd be coming and to get the time and place to meet up in the morning, before Embry pulled me into a heated yet tame make-out session in my car. We broke apart when Embry's porch light illuminated the front yard at the same time that my cell phone lit up with an incoming call from my dad.

"Damned parental radars," muttered Embry. Despite that, he tilted my face up again for another light kiss. "I'll see you in the morning. Okay for me to leave my bike at your place tomorrow?"

"Of course. Anytime."

After one more kiss, Embry reluctantly exited my car. "See you tomorrow," he said, bending down and leaning through my open window. "Ya bisapi cux. Kw'opḳalawó∙li." He repeated the phrases a few times, interspersing kisses between each one.

"I love you, too," was my reply when he finally relinquished my lips.

Embry stood on the driveway and watched as I drove away. Before I left La Push, I pulled into the darkened parking lot of the little store on the reservation-the one that Jared's family owned-to call my dad back.

"Where are you, Bells?"

"I just dropped Embry off at his house after the bonfire, and I had to find a place to stop so I could call you back. I knew you wouldn't want me to call while I was driving."

"Yeah. Good. Okay, so you're on your way home?"

"Yes, Dad. I'll be there in half an hour, just like any trip from the rez."

"Okay, I've got the light on for you."

"Dad, the Newton's invited a bunch of us up with them to Lake Crescent tomorrow. Embry and I are going."

"Who else?"

"Angela said that she and Jessica are going. Mike, obviously. I think Ben's going, too. Don't know about anyone else."

"Sounds fun. I've got to work this weekend-covering for one of my deputies-so I won't be around. Have a good time and be safe."

"Yes, Dad."

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I was a little confused Saturday morning when a car turned into my driveway instead of Embry's bike. I ran to Embry and jumped into his arms, not really noticing when Quil got out of the other side of the car and it pulled back out onto the street.

"Mmmm. My Bella," Embry ghosted kisses over my lips, jaw, and eyelids.

"Whoa! Friend watching!" quipped Quil. "Hey, Bella."

"Hey," I managed to reply. "What are you doing here?"

"The lake trip," Quil answered, as if it ought to have been obvious.

"You're coming?"

"Yeah. Sam said I could have a day off to hang with Embry."

"And make sure he doesn't go all Cujo on Mike Newton?" I queried.

"Well, it would kinda spoil the day," Quil agreed. "Not that Sam really thinks it's likely to happen-Embry's too level-headed for that. Probably more that this is a chance for us to hang out together again."

"Okay. The more the merrier, I guess." I didn't really mind having Quil around-though he could prove useful in keeping Mike Newton alive if he tried to make another move on me. And Embry would probably appreciate having his friend around just because it was Quil.

I put both guys to work hauling the small cooler out to my car. I'd raided the pantry for snacks and made some cookies and lemonade for the lake day after I'd gotten home from last night's bonfire.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the Outfitter's store, there were more people waiting than Angela had mentioned. I didn't mind Ben; he was a nice and quiet guy-a lot like Embry, really. But seeing Tyler and Eric...crap. Mike would have been bad enough alone, but with his two equally annoying sidekicks...

"Are you sure you don't want to just explore around here today?" whispered Embry, his breath tickling my ear.

"Don't want my new swimsuit to go to waste," I replied.

"Oh, it wouldn't," Embry promised, with a low rumble that set me tingling.

"Hey!" Quil's voice was loud and boisterous. "It's been a while. Angela and Jessica, right?" he greeted my two friends.

"It has, and we are," agreed Angela. "What have you been up to?"

"Tribal and family stuff," he explained. "Wish I had a brother to dump some it on, but no such luck." That last bit was clearly meant for Embry. Then Quil looked over at the other guys, none of whom looked happy to see either him or Embry. "Don't think I know you. Name's Quil Ateara." He stuck his hand out to Mike, who had to take it with his parents watching, and introduce himself and his friends.

"You're from La Push, right?" Mr. Newton asked.

"Yep. Grandpa's one of the tribal elders. Hope it's okay that I'm coming along. This just sounded like a lot of fun when Embry mentioned it last night. And I couldn't resist getting to spend more time with my dear cousin Bella."

"You're cousins?" Tyler blurted out, looking from Quil to me and back again in obvious disbelief.

"Yeah," Quil agreed. "Grandpa's mom was a Swan, so we're cousins somehow. I gotta remember to ask him what kind of cousins we are, exactly."

"Let's get this show on the road," encouraged Mrs. Newton. With all the people going on the trip, we weren't all going to be able to fit into the Newton's Suburban.

"Bella and I can take her car and caravan up with you," suggested Embry. "Quil could ride with us, too. Looks like everyone else would fit in the Suburban."

"What seat do we want, Jess?" Mike was a little too obviously enthusiastic about being able to have the hour's car ride to try and get back into her good graces-not that he had a chance of managing it. Jessica was facing away from him, so Mike couldn't see her grimace-though we certainly did.

Quil turned to the Forks guys. "Hey, why don't we let the girls ride together so they can socialize, and us guys can get to know each other a bit? Sorry, Emb-guess you're stuck with all the estrogen."

"Sure you're sorry," Embry scoffed. "But I'll be brave."

"We'll be nice," promised Jessica. "No torture devices." She and Angela were over by my car before Mike had a chance to try and protest. With obvious disappointment, he gestured Quil and the other guys over to the large Suburban that had a boat trailer attached to the back end.

Something was making my instincts twitch, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"Everything okay?" the question made me jump. "Sorry," apologized Embry.

"Yeah, I think so." Trying to force myself to put the puzzle together wasn't working; maybe if I pushed it aside, I'd figure it out.

Embry gave me a long glance, I guess using his new senses and the imprint bond to double-check what I'd said. "Want me to drive?" he offered. "That way you can talk to your friends and not get distracted."

"Sure."

Well, I did talk to my friends on the roughly one hour drive from Forks to Lake Crescent, just outside of Port Angeles-but Embry lied about me not getting distracted. His hand held mine, fingers periodically stroking my skin and igniting a slow burn that I privately vowed he'd have to make good on as soon as possible. If he didn't, then the swimsuit I had on under my clothes ought to make sure of it.

"So you've got a hunky sexy cousin, huh, Bella?" teased Jess.

"Apparently. He's quite the goofball, though, right, Embry?"

"From the day he was born," Embry agreed. "I think he's the reason we got stuck with that Three Stooges label when we were kids."

"Is he dating anyone?"

"Who? Quil? Nah. I think his plan with his new look is to play the field for a while. Don't think he's found 'the one' yet."

"Do you believe in destiny having a say in who you end up marrying?" asked Angela.

"The spirits brought Bella and me together," Embry replied. "Knowing that, how could I deny the power of destiny? I'm not saying it happens for everyone, but for me...yeah, I do believe it. I've got a feeling Quil's the same way." It was as close as he could come to saying that he knew it was true-one day, whether sooner or later-Quil would imprint, just like Sam, Jared, and Embry himself had done.

"I'm glad the two of you are friends again, and that he came along today. Goofball, stooge, or whatever-at least he'll be better than Mike and his goons."

Embry looked at Angela in the rearview mirror. "And so we came on this Mike-hosted trip because...?"

"It's something different and fun to do," Jessica laughed now. "Plus, we get to see the guys alternate between drooling over how you look now and giving you death-glares because of how you look now-well, that, and raging envy that you snagged Bella where none of them managed it."

Angela answered Embry's question, "I know. But we're going to have to spend time around those guys in school starting next week, so we might as well start getting used to them again."

"Stick with me and Quil today-I think between us we can keep the guys at a distance," Embry offered. "And I can try to keep it up once school starts-I'll be there every afternoon. It won't help you out in the mornings, I know, but..."

"Even a little help from you will be great," both of my friends looked relieved.

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Embry POV

"Let the fun begin," I said as I turned the car off the highway and onto the road leading to the lake. We followed the Newton's Suburban along the road and almost to the lake, stopping near a cluster of buildings in a wide parking area that sloped down to the water. When we got out, Angela followed me to the trunk.

"Bella told us," she said quietly.

Told them? Told them what? There were a lot of things Bella could have told her friends. We'd had the discussion about what I would-or wouldn't-be sharing with the pack, but hadn't talked about what Bella might or might not say to her own friends. The empathy in Angela's eyes finally clued me in to what she meant. Bella had told her two best girlfriends about my sperm donor.

"I'm sorry," Angela almost whispered it.

"Yeah, me, too."

"If you-I know you're a guy and may not want to, but...if you want to talk to someone...My dad's a minister, but he does some counseling, too-mostly for people at his church, but others, too, if they need it. I'm sure he'd be willing to meet you, and just listen or whatever else you might want." She handed me a small card-her father's business card.

"Thanks," I replied, not committing to anything but appreciating her gesture and thoughtfulness. I didn't know that I'd ever want to talk to anyone about this whole mess; well, anyone other than Bella. And even if I did, all the other secrets I had to keep now would almost preclude using anyone outside the tribe as my listener.

"Restrooms are in the Ranger's Station," Mrs. Newton pointed. Naturally, the girls immediately headed that way. Part of me didn't want to let Bella go, but I couldn't sense anything that would be a threat to her, so I made myself stay with Quil and the other guys. At least, we just stood there until we got recruited to help spot Mr. Newton while he swung his Suburban around and got the boat trailer lined up to go into the water. "It'll take me a while to get the boat prepped and launched," he said. "You kids can hang around here and wait, go to the lodge down the road-" he pointed, "or there's a couple of hiking trails near here that you could explore. One is next to the lodge and goes through the trees along the lake. The other trail is a bit longer and goes up to Marymere Falls."

"We'll be spending most of the day in or on the lake, so why don't we do the waterfall trail?" suggested Bella, who'd just rejoined us with her friends.

With no objections from anyone else, I grasped Bella's hand and started leading the group toward the trailhead. Quil and the other girls followed behind us, with the other guys bringing up the rear. They might have thought they were being quiet, but Quil and I could hear the whispered mutters about the girls' asses and other assets-clearly, having those douches bring up the rear had been not the best idea ever; I vowed we'd make them go first on the way back.

After a half-mile walk into the trees, we took a fork in the path and started climbing upward underneath a canopy of conifers and maples, alongside a creek. For me—and for Quil, I guessed—it was a lot like traveling through the forest on patrol—except we were doing this on two legs rather than four, and a paved trail. We crossed a couple creeks, stopping on the second bridge to look at a small waterfall.

"Want to see the view from up top?" I asked Bella.

She considered the steep flight of stairs snaking upward to another viewing area. "Sure. Might as well, since we're here."

I let Bella start up ahead of me, partly so that I could catch her if she slipped on the steps but mostly so that I'd be between her and our gawking soon-to-be classmates. At the top, we approached the barrier fence and looked out at the view.

"Beautiful," Bella whispered, gazing at the waterfall that tumbled 90 feet down the face of the cliff to the creek and lower falls we'd already looked at.

"Yes, you are."

"Embry," she scolded me. But when she looked up into my eyes, her own were full of humor and love, not as upset at my compliment as she'd tried to make out. I couldn't resist bending down and claiming her rosy lips in a kiss. I kept it tame since we had an audience, but still put enough into it to stake my claim in front of those lesser and juvenile human males. Then I dutifully made my own scan of the scenery, and had to admit that Bella had been right, too. The view was an impressive one. I'd still always prefer looking at Bella to anyone or anything else, but I supposed there was something to be said for appreciating things that she thought looked nice.

"You guys ready to head back?" We turned to see Ben standing behind us.

"Back?" Bella's eyes darted between Ben and the steps we'd scaled not too long ago. "Down the stairs. Great."

Correctly gauging my imprint's lack of enthusiasm for the descent, I swung her onto my back, telling my ears to overlook her involuntary shriek at the maneuver. "Yeah, we're ready to go," I told Ben.

"I could do it," Bella spoke softly into my ear. Her breath tickled my skin and gave me ideas I had no way of doing anything about in the near future.

"I know," I agreed. "But we'll be hiking that other trail this afternoon. I don't want you to get too tired. And this way you won't have to worry about slipping on the steps."

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Bella's POV

Embry set me back on my feet at the bottom of the stairs. As promised, I hadn't slipped on the stairs, but Embry had had to move pretty carefully the whole way. I'd decided to do a little "turn around is fair play" and tease him the way he'd done me on the drive here. I saw and felt him shiver when I blew against his neck and ears, and as my fingers danced across his collarbone. Of course, he'd reciprocated with feathery caresses along the insides of my calves-my legs being conveniently wrapped around his waist-so I was being wound up just as much as I was winding Embry up. Soon after we made it back onto the path, we were back at the parking lot we'd started out at. I was no expert, but it looked to me like Mike's dad had his boat ready to go. Embry and Quil teamed up to get me onto the boat without first taking a swim in the lake or a header into the boat. Then they did the same thing for my friends. Rather pointedly, they didn't offer the same assistance to any of the guys; in fact, they almost looked like they wanted to 'help' Mike and Company right into the water—I probably didn't want to know why, even though I knew Embry would tell me if I asked. Once we were all on board, Mr. Newton got the boat moving and started playing tour guide.

"Lake Crescent is the second-deepest lake in the state of Washington," he informed us. "Although, no one definitively knows how deep it actually is. Some students at Peninsula College in Port Angeles did some measurements back in the 60's and got what's viewed as the official depth of 624 feet-but that figure was just because their equipment couldn't go any deeper. Workers who were laying power cables say it's actually over a thousand feet deep."

"It's pretty," Angela said, seeking a firmer handhold on the boat as it bounced over the blue-green water. "Is that...was there a landslide?" she risked pointing.

"Ages ago, yes," agreed Mr. Newton. "Lake Crescent and Lake Sutherland across the highway used to be one lake, carved out by glaciers millennia ago. But a landslide created a barrier between them. There are actually a couple types of fish that are only found here because of that-they couldn't migrate into and out of the lakes, so the fish that were stuck in the lake interbred and mutated."

"Our stories say that the landslide and the creation of this lake was caused by Mount Storm King. He threw a huge boulder at warriors of the Klallam tribe and our Quileute tribe who were fighting here and it blocked up the river, forming the lake," Quil offered, pointing up at the tall peak in question.

"You really believe that?" scoffed Mike.

"Michael!" Mrs. Newton chastised her son. "You know better than to make fun of someone's beliefs. Every culture and group in history has developed stories and such to help explain the world around them and the things they encountered. I personally think that what-your name is Quil, right?-told us is a very interesting story."

Quil's eyes caught and held Mike's, the look's mild firmness kept it from being entirely predatory. "I know that the two tribes have fought each other quite a few times-both tribes' tales say that. I know that we're sitting here at a lake created by a huge landslide. Who's to say that ancient gods couldn't have caused that landslide? Not like any of us were there to say one way or the other."

"Uh, yeah. I guess."

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Back on shore, calls came from all sides to break open the coolers and boxes of food and take advantage of the nearby picnic tables to eat on. Embry sat sideways on the bench and pulled me up against him, bracketing my body between his legs. Much as he'd done only a few days ago, he insisted on taking care of me, feeding me my lunch with a solicitude that I knew others were noticing. But I could sense—somehow knew—that he needed to do this, him and his wolf.

"Have you two been dating long?" Mrs. Newton asked.

"A few weeks," I began, not wanting to be rude, but not wanting to share details that would likely be all over town before long.

"But I had my eye on her all summer," added Embry. "And lucky for me, she was looking back." His arm around my waist tugged me closer and I gladly melted against him.

"You are definitely well worth watching," I replied. "Not a hardship for me."

"Watch me anytime you want to, babe," he breathed into my ear.

"I will." A promise. But for now, I'd happily settle for being close to him and savoring his scent and warmth.

When the food was gone—and I had the feeling that Embry and Quil had deliberately eaten less than they might have wanted to—we all got back on the boat for a trip across the lake to hike the Spruce Railroad trail. Mr. and Mrs. Newton decided that they'd wait for us at the nearby lodge instead of taking the trek with us.

Angela had grabbed a brochure from the Ranger's station earlier and as we walked to the start of the trail she told us how the railroad line had been built during the First World War to transport timber harvested in the area to Port Angeles. After years of that use, part of the railroad line had been turned into the hiking trail a few decades ago. She stopped dead in her tracks. "This trail is four miles long-one way. We're not going to do the whole thing, right?"

Quil winked. "I'll carry you back, if you need it."

"You think I'm a light-weight?"

"Uh, no. Definitely not" Quil backpedaled. "You could do it, sure. But I don't think we've got anywhere near enough time to do an 8-mile hike plus have time for swimming, and we didn't make arrangements with Mike's parents to get picked up at the other end of the trail." He plucked the map out of Angela's hands. "Looks like the bridge and swimming cove are just a couple miles in. We can get there and have a good while to jump and swim before we have to head back."

The trail quickly turned inland away from the lake and started an upward climb through stands of what Quil identified as Red Alders and Douglas Firs. We reached the crest of the hill and an incredible view of the lake through the trees. It was a beautiful view that didn't make up for the fact that the trail on the other side of the hill snaked back down almost to the level of the lake. Fortunately, after that the rest of the way to the Devil's Punchbowl bridge was pretty flat, even when the trail went from paved to dirt. Quil's and Embry's keen eyesight kept us from tripping over tree roots or rocks.

We stood on the bridge out over the swimming hole, watching boats and Mount Storm King in the distance, listening to the lapping of the water against the shore and bridge supports.

"Sure you girls want to jump in?" Tyler asked. "Bodies have been found in the lake, you know."

"Either because they drove off a road in the dark and went into the water, or else because someone thought they could weight a body down so it wouldn't be found. I think the girls are safe enough on both counts," Embry scoffed.

Quil diffused the tension by vaulting over the side of the bridge, sending up a large splash of water when he impacted the lake's surface-a splash that neatly drenched Mike, Eric, and Tyler, but avoided the rest of us almost completely. "Sorry," he called out. At least, I think that's what he said-it was hard to hear him with the shrieks and curses the Forks guys emitted.

"Ready?" Embry asked me.

I took a deep breath. "Okay." And with that, I pulled off my t-shirt and shorts.

"So chid washitli tikto'wa?" Embry growled the words low and deep when he got a look at my dark orange swimsuit: a halter-top with a band under my breasts that made the most of my physical assets, and a bikini bottom with little ties at each hip.

"What's that mean?"

"CIA torturer," was Embry's reply.

He dropped his own jean cut-offs to reveal a fitted pair of black swim shorts that made my breath catch in my throat. Embry gave me a little smirk and eyebrow lift that told me this was just as deliberate as my own swimwear choice. He climbed up to sit on the bridge railing, then turned and helped me do the same.

"One, two, three," and with that we both pushed off from the bridge out into the air. When we touched the water, my first thought was, _"This isn't too bad,"_ but that was immediately followed by, _"Oh, shit, this is __**f-f-freezing!**__"_ Embry's warm hands held my arms and I let him guide us both up to break the surface of the water and kick toward the shore of the little cove that the bridge spanned. He had to help me out of the water, too, since my body still wasn't working right after the brutal shock of the water's temperature.

"Come on," Quil shouted to the others. With a glance between them, Angela and Jessica repeated Embry's and my tandem jump move. Quil swam over when they surfaced and pulled them to land before heading along the shoreline back to the bridge where all the backpacks had been left.

"You guys coming in?" I called to the quartet of guys still standing on the bridge span. With what almost seemed like a fatalistic shrug, Ben climbed up onto the rail and dropped down into the water. Then Mike, Tyler, and Eric succumbed to the so-far silent peer pressure and also jumped-staying on the bridge was rather pointless given the drenching delivered by Quil.

"Why does the water feel okay at first and then as cold as the Arctic Ocean?" Angela asked, gratefully accepting the towel Quil handed her from the backpack full of them that we'd brought along.

"Thermocline," Ben replied.

"What's that?" I asked, trying to focus on something other than how cold I was. Embry snagged a towel from Quil and draped it over me, starting a gentle rubbing motion to dry and warm me up. It helped even more that he sat down behind me and scooted up until there was barely any space between us.

"Basically it's when different layers of water have different temperatures, based on season, tides, waves, wind, and stuff like that. Submarines can use them to help hide, because different layers of water will reflect back sonar waves differently." Ben offered the information. "The top layer of water absorbs the most sunlight and is warmest. Layers lower down get less of that sun-warmth and are colder. Plus, this is a glacially-created lake, so it's going to be on the colder side anyway."

Quil finished handing out the towels to everyone else before he stripped off the shorts he'd worn into the water; since, of course, he hadn't been able to take them off first without warning the group that he was planning something. He got appreciative looks from my girl friends and sour ones from the other guys. Quil fully dressed was physically impressive. Quil dressed only in a speedo, clearly attention-getting—to everyone but me, that is. My eyes only saw Embry, lean muscles well-defined under dusky skin, short hair that the water had already dried from, dark eyes that only focused on me, that quiet and powerful strength that I now depended on.

"Feeling warm again?" Embry asked me.

"Yeah." It was true. Between the sun, being drier now, and Embry's body heat, I was feeling quite good. To thank him, I twisted my head and pulled his down for a quick kiss. At least, I meant it to be quick; but as usual, that changed fast. I turned on Embry's lap so that I faced him for a proper kiss. The towel almost fell away before Embry grabbed it and used the ends to pull me against his chest. Arms wrapped around bodies, mouths met and devoured.

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Embry POV

I knew we were playing with fire, Bella being on my lap like she was, but I didn't care—or my wolf didn't care, whichever. I want everyone to know that she is mine and I am hers. Without planning it, my lips began to wander along her jaw and down the column of her throat…

"We brought snacks if you're hungry, Em," Quil's voice intruded.

"Shut the fuck up," I muttered under my breath.

"You probably would have been doing that with Bella in another couple minutes if I hadn't," his words were equally quiet. "Not a good idea with this audience."

I couldn't argue with him. It was entirely possible that I could have been so oblivious that having witnesses wouldn't have mattered a bit. "Thanks"

Louder, and to Bella, I asked "Want to jump again?"

"Okay. I think I've warmed up enough to stand another plunge."

After helping Bella up, I vaulted to my feet. We'd only just started walking back toward the bridge when I glanced down. My gut clenched when I saw the rosy hickey I'd placed on the side of her neck. I hadn't even known I was doing it. Sam had warned me that my wolf would want to mark Bella as his—as ours—and I hadn't taken him as seriously as I clearly should have.

"Wait up!" Angela called after us. "We'll come, too." She and Jessica caught up, and I heard Quil walking behind them. He and I jumped first and waited for the girls so we could tow them to shore again. I helped Bella dry off, but was more on-edge than I'd been earlier given what had happened. Quil caught it and gave me a nudge.

"Looks like there's a bit of a path going higher up. Let's check it out. Could be a good high-jump spot. You ought to get a little practice before our group's next cliff diving jaunt at home."

"What?"

"You know the tall cliffs near the rez. Paul said the guys go out there sometimes and jump. C'mon, Emb. This'll be fun."

"You okay with staying here?" I asked Bella. No way on earth was I going to watch or help her jump off a cliff.

Her expression as she looked upward said it all. "Yep, I'll be fine here with my friends."

Once we were alone, Quil turned serious. "What's up, Emb? You've been on edge ever since I-hell, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I just didn't think those jerkwads needed to see you two. Pack doesn't get to, humans don't get to. _I _shouldn't, either-no way that I wouldn't end up sharing that in the pack-mind. Bella would die of embarrassment-and then come back to haunt or poison me."

All true, but not what had me worked up. "Q, I put a hickey on Bella's neck. It's not a bite-I didn't do that, but...I didn't even know I was doing it. Sam warned me that my wolf will want to mark Bella, and I didn't take him seriously enough."

"Gonna tell him? You probably should, but..."

"Yeah. I don't want to; hell, I don't know. Part of me says it's none of his business, while the rest of me says that he knows what it's like and could maybe help." I wasn't too sure about that, though. Neither Sam nor Jared had been able to wait long after meeting their imprints before giving them the mark, so what chance did I have? I couldn't do anything about it now, so I'd think about it and see.

"Let's jump!" Quil bounced excitedly, obviously putting the issue on hold for now.

I couldn't help smiling a little. "Keep that up and you'll send yourself over the edge whether you're ready to or not."

"I'm a wolf. It's okay."

"It won't be okay if you make any of those guys suspect anything," I retorted.

"We aren't _that_ high up and the water's deep, so no worries about unexplainable injury healing. Come on!" And with a wolf-like howl, Quil leaped off the edge of our cliff-side perch, plummeting down to the pool below. With an eye-roll typical of watching Quil's antics, I followed suit.

"You guys are crazy," Ben commented after my packmate and I had rejoined the group.

"He is, for sure," I agreed.

"Daredevils," added Eric.

"Not as much as you all," Ben shot back the retort before I could say anything. To me, he continued, "These idiots want us to keep going and check out the abandoned railroad tunnels farther along the trail."

"What the hell for?" exploded Quil. "Got a death wish or something?"

"They sound cool-" began Tyler.

"That's what the morons say who think that playing Russian Roulette is a good idea."

"You want to play the fools, fine," I glowered at the reckless trio. "We'll head back to the parking lot and have Mike's parents call out the park rangers, highway patrol, search and rescue, paramedics, and whoever else they'd need to save you guys if the tunnel caves in."

Tyler gulped. "It's really that dangerous?"

"Those tunnels were dug about a century ago, and haven't been used in about 50 years. You want to go exploring in a place like that, well, go for it. Just don't think that we'll be coming along."

"I don't want to walk all that way-it's practically almost to the end of the trail and we already decided we weren't going that far. Just Google the tunnels when you get home if you want to see what they look like," dismissed Jessica.

"Okay, it was just a suggestion," Mike sighed. "So what _are_ we going to do?"

"We can head back to the lodge where your parents are waiting for us," offered Angela.

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Bella POV

With no other ideas being presented, we stuffed the towels back into the backpacks, redressed, and started back the way we'd come. Another boat ride across the lake and we were back at the vehicles. While Mr. Newton and the guys got the boat back onto the trailer, Mrs. Newton told us girls that we'd be swinging into Port Angeles to fill up the cars with gas and that they'd treat all of us to a quick dinner before we headed for home.

About two hours later we pulled back into the parking lot at the Outfitter's store and parted ways. I'd dozed off for at least part of the trip back, but woke up enough to say goodbye to my friends. Either Quil or Embry must have called home, because Embry's mom was waiting in my driveway when he pulled my car into its spot next to my dad's cruiser.

"Thanks for letting me come along," Quil said.

"No problem," I yawned.

"I had a good time," Embry walked me up to my house.

"Me too."

"I've got to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Can't wait."

After telling Charlie we'd had a good time, I escaped upstairs for a shower and then fell into bed. It had been a fun day, but I was exhausted.

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AN: Not entirely sure if I'm 100% happy with this one, but I've made you wait on this long enough, and I'm not sure what else I could do to change/improve this, so here we go. Hopefully it's worth me staying up way later than I should have tonight to get this done, and isn't a hot mess. Good or bad, I'd love to know what you think.

Embry's love phrases: "I love you." It's kw'opḳalawó∙li, also spelled a variety of other ways (kwopkalawo'li, kw'opkalawoli, k'upkalawli, kwop kilawtley, que quowle, etc.) The different spellings are due to the fact that Quileute isn't traditionally a written language, not due to any ambiguity in meaning. _k__w__'opa_ is the Quileute root for "love," _-kalaw_ is an object suffix meaning "you," and _-li_ is a subject suffix meaning "I." .

"So chid washitli tikto'wa?" means "Are you trying to drive me crazy?"


	49. Back to School

Narrator POV

Sam appeared in Embry's yard almost as soon as Tiffany pulled into the driveway. Embry and Quil got out of the car when they saw him.

"How was the trip?" Sam asked.

"Good."

"Any problems?" Sam frowned at Embry's non-informative answer.

"No blood, fangs, or claws. Or signs of anything freaky," supplied Quil. "A few idiot teenage guys running off their mouths, but nothing major."

"Glares and set-downs took care of it," Embry said. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Anything else I need to know about?" the Alpha inquired. Embry and Quil exchanged a glance.

"I'm gonna run home now. I ought to spend some time with Mom and Grandpa before they go to bed, and I need to ask Grandpa something before I forget." Quil was off like a shot before either of the other could say anything.

"Embry?" Sam asked. Tiffany had gone into the house and the pair was now alone outside.

"I'm okay. Never felt like I was going to lose control or anything. I mean, I did get a bit pissed off at what those guys were saying about the girls, but any decent guy would have felt that way hearing that stuff."

"But...?"

The younger wolf was silent for a minute and the elder allowed the quiet to linger. Finally, "I put a little bit of a hickey on Bella's neck, that's all."

"Did you break the skin?" Sam's tone held a bit of sharpness.

"No! I didn't bite her."

The Alpha held his packmate's gaze for a long minute. "I believe you. But you have to be careful about this, Embry. You've got to watch yourself around her, and keep your wolf under control. Don't underestimate his need to have his-your-mate marked. I'm not trying to butt in where it isn't my business-I just don't want your life to get any more complicated than it already is."

"And marking would be a complication," it was a statement more than a question.

"Right now, yes. You and Bella are both only seventeen, Embry. Marking and its resultant consequences _would_ be problematic for you both at the present time."

Embry defended himself, repeating his earlier assertion, "I didn't feel a need to bite her, Sam."

"And that's good. Just be careful when you're with her in that way. I'm not asking you to step back from the physical relationship-neither you nor he would accept that-just be careful, alright?"

"I will." Fortunately for Sam, Embry's usual good nature let him take the advice in the spirit it was intended, and not in the way that a possessive wolf might see it.

"Goodnight, Embry. Thank you for telling me what happened."

"Wasn't sure that I would say anything," Embry admitted. "But it wouldn't have looked good for me to try and hide it-and Quil knows about it, anyway."

Sam cracked a smile. "Self-confession before inadvertent confession-best practice, for pack as well as for parents."

Laconically, "That's what I figured."

"Get some sleep. You're back on patrol tomorrow afternoon. Emily and I usually host a Sunday brunch for everyone, so you're welcome to come if you want to-Bella, too. It isn't required, though."

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The pack brunch ended up going on without the presence of the newest imprinted pair. Embry really didn't want to attend if there was a chance that Jacob might be there, and Bella didn't push the issue. She wasn't any more eager to spend time around her former best guy friend than Embry was, and didn't mind postponing the inevitable meeting until it was mandatory. So she cooked up a full spread just for herself and her boyfriend and they snuggled together on the couch watching movies before he had to leave for his patrol shift.

To cap off Bella and Embry's weekend of togetherness-the bonfire Friday night, Saturday's lake trip, and just hanging out and cuddling the rest of the weekend-Tiffany Call invited the Swan's down to dinner on Monday night. The recent bombshell of Embry's paternity wasn't brought up at all; in fact, they all seemed to have a silent mutual pact to avoid it. Most of the conversation revolved around the classes Embry and Bella would be taking at our respective schools, as well as the ones they'd have together. Both single parents also spent time watching their children, not out of any real concern, but more out of pleased puzzlement. It was unexplainable how in-tune Bella and Embry seemed to be with each other, words often unnecessary, bodies anticipating the other's movement. Embry's attentiveness to whatever Bella needed made Tiffany proud of her son and Charlie favorable toward his daughter's new boyfriend. But at the same time, both wondered what was so different about him compared to most teenage males.

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The students of Forks and La Push went back to their respective schools on Tuesday morning with great reluctance. It was obvious to the rest of the La Push student population that the breach between Embry Call and Jacob Black was still in full force-at least on Embry's side. He absolutely refused to look at Jacob, and ignored his attempts to talk. Some students probably would have tried to make something of that by targeting Embry, which a few of them had already done over the summer...but they didn't. The fact that Embry was clearly hanging with Paul Lahote and was just as big as him-Paul, whom they all knew ran with 20-year-old Sam Uley and 18-year-old Jared Cameron and was about their size-was enough to make them keep their distance. In fact, the student body seemed inclined to also include Jacob as well as Quil Ateara in that avoidance bubble. There was just something about the unwilling quartet that everyone else noticed and didn't want to get too close to. If Sam, Jared, and Paul weren't known to have chased more than one would-be drug dealer away from La Push, then whispers of steroid use would be natural. Instead, most people in the community simply assumed it was growth spurts or pumping iron. Since Sam and Paul were cousins, just like Jared was cousin to Jake, and Jake to Quil, the assumption that it was inherited was a logical one—even though no one had any idea just how right that belief really was.

After enduring a morning of stares and whispers, Embry gratefully retrieved his helmet from his locker and headed outside to his bike for the trip to his classes in Forks. His wolf relaxed once they were away from the annoying teenage humans and almost danced in metaphysical pleasure that they would soon be with their imprint. The wolf really didn't like being away from her all night long, but until they graduated, there really wasn't much choice that wouldn't evoke unwelcome questions and comments from all quarters-or a close encounter with Bella's father's service pistol or shotgun.

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Bella POV

I was facing the direction of the exterior cafeteria doors-just like I'd been last year on my first day here when the Cullen's had entered both the cafeteria and my life-so I saw my boyfriend coming even before he walked in. Embry wore a sleeveless t-shirt with a pair of worn jeans and boots; a backpack was slung casually over one shoulder. He stepped inside and immediately started moving my way. I stood up from my table-completely interrupting the story Angela was telling-and began walking toward him. As soon as we were face to face, Embry dropped his arm to let the backpack slide to the floor, continuing the limb rotation to lift me upward. Automatically my legs rose to lock around his waist. Heads tilted and lips met, gently at first but soon with growing intensity. The world-and the whistles and cat-calls of my fellow students-faded away as a slow burn began to grow inside me-inside both of us.

"That's enough. Break it up." The voice-belated identified as that of the principal, Mr. Green-only gradually penetrated the haze surrounding me.

With obvious reluctance-obvious in the presence of an erection pressed between us-Embry relinquished my lips and let me slide back down to the floor. He kept hold of me, thankfully, since my legs were none too steady at the moment; the fact that my body was blocking anyone's view of his groin was just an added bonus. "Sorry," he told the principal-although everyone could tell that he wasn't in the least bit apologetic. "Just happy to see my girlfriend."

Mr. Green's eyes tracked up and down Embry's six feet plus of solidly muscled body, and then over to me as I turned around-doing a double-take to confirm that it actually was me. "Sorry," I echoed Embry with an equal lack of sincerity.

"I don't recognize you, young man. What's your name?" Mr. Green asked my boyfriend.

"Embry Call. I'm part of the shared studies program with the La Push school this year."

"Well, welcome to Forks High School. But that kind of PDA isn't the best way to start the year, Mr. Call." The principal tried for sternness even though the student he was chiding towered over him.

"Guess not," Embry grinned. "Couldn't help it, though. I love my girlfriend."

There wasn't much Mr. Green could say that wouldn't be taken as inappropriate, so he just repeated, "No PDA," and headed across the room to deal with a group of students and their horseplay.

"Not gonna happen," Embry whispered. "I'm gonna PDA you as much as I can. Gotta keep all those guys away from you-and the girls away from me."

"I like how you think," I breathed in reply. "It probably won't work with any of our 'admirers'-persistence isn't always a virtue-but I like the thought."

As Jessica had predicted over the weekend, Embry got quite a bit of attention on that first afternoon of the school year. He would have been noticed in any case, just from being a new student, but his new appearance ramped that up exponentially. The guys eyed him because of his height and muscles-probably fearing for their starting spots on the sports teams, or else as competition for the girls. The girls...the drooling was so unbelievable that it almost made me want to head to the Thriftway after school to pick up packages of baby bibs; either bibs or a diuretic to be mixed into bake sale offerings—assuming the diet-obsessed girls would indulge in such treats. I had no doubts about Embry's commitment to me, though, and the imprint was only a small part of the reason why.

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Embry POV

I insisted on walking Bella to her locker after school to grab the books she'd need for her homework, and then carrying her backpack out to her car for her. I knew I needed to get going to be on time for my patrol shift, but I selfishly was putting that off for as long as possible in favor of being with Bella. If Jared was right about the proximity urge of imprinting fading as time passed, I was going to take full advantage of it in the meantime.

"So how was your first day?" Bella's friend Jessica bounced up to us.

"It was a blast," Bella replied blandly. "Embry?"

"The chance to spend more time with my girl...it was great."

"I bet," laughed Jessica. "Just so long as the teachers don't catch you studying Bella more than your textbooks."

"Won't happen," my retort was swift and accurate-with the senses I had now, no ordinary person would catch anything I didn't want them to.

"What won't happen?" Jessica snorted. "You studying Bella, or you getting caught?"

"Getting caught, of course." To think that I wouldn't be exploring Bella in detail inside and out was ludicrous.

"Want to come to my place?" Bella asked me.

"Do I want to? Always. Can I? No..." I sighed. "Tribal job calls."

"I forgot. It's every day after school, right?"

"Unfortunately. Too bad-I'd love homework sessions with you."

"What do you think the weekends are for? Charlie goes fishing with Harry and Billy for two days straight almost every single weekend." Bella's eyes shot to mine when she unconsciously used my sperm-donor's name. I let it slide. I knew she hadn't meant to upset me-I wasn't going to let myself _get_ upset-and I could hardly expect Charlie Swan to ignore his lifelong best friend just because of me. Okay, so maybe I selfishly wished he would, anyway, but I wasn't going to ask. Weighing against that desire, however, was the obvious advantage to me if my girlfriend's father was gone all weekend long: uninterrupted time along with Bella, in her bed more likely than at the table studying. So perhaps I'd be altruistic after all and encourage the fishing trips to continue. My body definitely liked that idea, and I again cursed the fact that I had to leave soon to patrol.

To distract us both, "Tell him to stock up on fish. I'll find you lots of new recipes...and I'll even clean the fish for you."

"Okay."

"Ange and I will be your study buddies since Embry can't, Bella," Jessica offered. I'd almost forgotten-or at least I hadn't cared-that she was still standing next to Bella and me and had heard our implied plans for the weekend.

"Sounds good. We can even start today."

"I'll grab Angela and we'll meet you at your house, okay?"

"Sure."

"Bye, Embry." With a wave, Jessica headed off to find Angela, leaving Bella and me blessedly alone. I peeked at Bella's watch and knew I'd have to leave now or really risk getting in trouble. I was at least going to see her safe to her car before I left, though. After Bella had opened the back door to toss her backpack onto the seat, I shut it and spun her around until her back was pressed against the door.

"I want to see you after patrol. Leave your window unlocked-open if you can manage it."

"My window?"

"There's a tree outside your window, remember?"

"You're going to sneak into my room?" Bella squeaked.

"Of course."

"Every night?"

"If I can."

"Embry, my dad...we can't-"

"I know. That's what weekends are for," I gave Bella back her words from a few minutes ago. "But I want to see you, touch you, smell you..." I put actions to words and stepped closer to my girlfriend, running my hands along her arms, breathing in her scent, memorizing every detail of her. Reality intruded in the shrill ringing of my cell phone. I didn't even look at it before answering.

"Yeah?"

"You better get your ass moving before Sam kicks it," Paul didn't bother with a greeting.

"Damn."

He laughed. "Yeah, too bad for you, my man. But you did get to see Bella all afternoon. And I wouldn't be surprised if you don't sneak over to see her again after your patrol, too. You'll be fine for a few hours without her."

That's what he thought. "Paul...after you meet your imprint, I will so remind you that you just said that-and then laugh in your face."

The silence on the phone said that I'd scored a point. With imprinting being a question of _when_ rather than a question of _if_, he knew that I was likely to be right on how he'd act once he found his mate.

"Whatever," Paul finally said. "But if you don't want to be running during Quil's shift, too, you'd better get to a spot where you can ditch your bike and get phased."

"Okay. Fine. Bye." Refocusing my attention on Bella, I murmured, "I've got to go. Paul and Sam are waiting on me."

"I better go, too," Bella was equally reluctant. "Ange and Jess will be sitting on my front porch if I don't leave now."

After a quick check revealed that most students had left and that teachers were still inside the school, I claimed Bella's mouth in a deep and devouring kiss. We were both breathing heavily by the time I let her go. I helped her into the driver's seat of her car, shut the door, and watched her drive away. Only then did I walk to my bike to start my own trip, following her part of the way until she turned off the main street running through Forks.

I left my bike in a hidden clearing just off the road inside the La Push boundary. After shucking off my shoes and shirt, and hiding my wallet and keys, I walked into the cover of the trees before stripping off my jeans and tying them to my ankle with the cord Paul had given me last time. I took a deep breath and let the ever-present anger toward my unacknowledged father fill me. The fire raced through my body and I fell to the forest floor on four paws.

_How did your day go?_ Sam's voice greeted me in the pack mind.

_Okay. Got a lot of stares from everyone._

_It happens. Any problems?_

_Nope._

_That's good. I'll phase out now and let you run with Paul. Paul, you sure you're up for running an eight-hour shift?_

_It's no problem. I can handle it, and I like hanging with Embry anyway._

_Okay. Your call. Remember, howl if there's a problem, or any sight or sound of something that shouldn't be here._

_Got it._

_And Embry?_

_Yeah?_

_Move a little faster next time, okay? It's not fair to any of us to have our patrol replacement be late._

_Sorry._

Sam snorted mentally. _I can see that. Just don't push it too far, okay?_

_I won't. _Sam registered my promise and was gone.

_Protective much? _I asked Paul after Sam had gone.

_Maybe, but that's not always a bad thing. Like I said before, he had a hard time coping with all of it in the beginning-no one he could turn to for help or advice other than some old men who'd never been wolves themselves, who'd just been kids the one time they ever saw a protector. He doesn't want any of the rest of us going through anything like that-not when he can do something about it now._

_I'm doing fine._

_Yeah, you are, _he agreed. _But you're still new at this, and you haven't faced a vampire yet—not as a wolf._

_Did fine as a human, didn't I?_

_You did. But he also seemed the sort to play with his food first—if he'd wanted to, he'd have killed you both before you ever knew he was there._

Part of me wanted to protest on principle, but I knew Paul was right. That bloodsucker had been toying with us, drawing it out. Not that I was complaining, as it meant Bella and I had gotten the chance to survive.

_Sorry. I know I shouldn't be cocky._

_Except around Bella, right?_

_Shut up!_

_Okay, okay. No, you shouldn't have too high of an opinion of your abilities right now. After you've faced down a few vampires, then that'll be different._

_Think one will come around soon?_

_That redheaded female is still out there. Eventually she's going to wonder why her friend hasn't reported back to her and come sniffing around again for answers. Seems to be her pattern: flit around for a while and then vanish for a spell, then come back…_

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Narrator POV

Neither Embry nor Bella could complain about the start of this new school year. Having Embry at Forks High every afternoon was great in both their minds. It was even better that he ended up sitting either next to or just behind Bella in all their classes. That hadn't been the original plan of the teachers by any means, but Embry's new height of well over six feet tall meant that his spot in the front row of desks would have resulted in him blocking the views of anyone behind him. So he'd graciously volunteered to move to the back of the room, while totally not mentioning his girlfriend's placement there.

The males at Forks High started warming up to Embry after hearing him turn down every single sports-coaching teacher who invited him to try out for their team.

"I've got an after-school tribal job that I've just started, so I won't have time for sports between that and getting my homework done. Can't let my grades slide just because I'm a senior this year-I want to get some good college scholarships."

Those same guys also seemed to finally start getting the clue that Bella Swan was firmly off the dating market. Embry didn't have to say anything-he just looked at them long and hard, and kissed Bella anytime that teachers weren't in sight. By the end of the week, a few bold souls even dared to approach him and offer suggestions of the best hidden make-out spots on campus. It took longer for the message that Embry wasn't looking for a girlfriend to sink in with Forks' female students, who kept trying to snag Embry and earning themselves lectures and detentions from teachers for inappropriate skirt lengths and cleavage-revealing shirts.

"I have a girlfriend," he told them, "and for you to try and proposition me right in front of her is unbelievably rude and disrespectful-to Bella, to me, and to yourselves. There are plenty of guys here who'd make good boyfriends-no need to waste time by going after a guy who's already committed. I'm a one-woman man, and that's never going to change."

Jessica and Angela kept close to Bella when Embry wasn't at the school-no way were they going to let any of those jealous girls get a chance to make any moves against Bella for having the hottest boyfriend in the history of Forks High School. Embry was grateful to them for it, and kept his word to help keep the guys like Mike Newton at bay.

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Bella POV

Yet again, I was falling into the habit of leaving my window open—or at least unlocked—when I went to bed at night. This, though, was wildly different from before, just as Embry was vastly incomparable to Edward. While I now recognized how weird and creepy Edward's nocturnal visits had been—can we say 'stalker'?—Embry…My wolf needed and wanted to see me, be close to me, and I felt exactly the same way about him. A faint tapping sound sent me scrambling out of bed to my window just as another small rock sailed up to hit the glass with a soft _whack_.

"Move back," Embry whisper-called up to me. I moved more the side than back into the room, wanting to see—or at least attempt to see—how he got up here. It was easier to follow than vampire movement had been, but was still much faster than a human could ever manage. Embry used the tree and side of the house as springboards, bouncing off one and then the other, back and forth, until he swung his body through my open window to land silently inside my bedroom. Moments later, we were in each other's arms.

"How was your patrol?"

"Boring," Embry replied as we settled down to spoon on my bed. "Paul ran with me most of the week—because he wanted to, not because Sam ordered it—but he took tonight off and I ran solo."

"What's it like?"

"Its lots of running around, looking and scenting for anything that shouldn't be there—which there hasn't been."

"That's good, right?" I snuggled a little closer to Embry's warmth and his arm tightened around me in response.

"Yes and no. It's good because then no one's in danger here. Bad, because we can't kill them if they aren't here."

"Are you worried about that? About killing one of them? They look human, act human."

"But they aren't human—not anymore. I don't think I'll have a problem helping deal with them."

"You'll be careful, right?" I twisted around to face him. "I know you've got teeth and claws now, but vampires are fast and strong"

"So are we." His reply was automatic. But after looking at my obvious disappointment with that answer, Embry added, "I'll be careful, I promise. Sam and the others won't let me go and do anything stupid."

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Charlie POV

I drove across the border of the La Push reservation before dawn on Saturday morning, still half-convinced that I ought to turn around and head home. Leaving my teenage daughter home alone for the weekend while I went fishing didn't seem like the best idea right now. I couldn't put my finger on why, exactly, but things were different with Bella and Embry than they had been with her and that Cullen kid. It wasn't just that Edwin Cullen had had the 'perpetual suffering' look down to an art or a science. It wasn't even that Bella had gone and put herself back onto birth control—and, heavens, how even the memory of that conversation was enough to embarrass me. It was mostly the way that Embry watched Bella lately: like he wanted do was devour her—an idea that didn't seem too far-fetched with how different he looked and acted now. He looked so much like Jacob Black and those other boys that ran with Sam Uley that it was almost eerie. I didn't think it was just because I now knew Embry and Jake were actually brothers—which also meant Embry was related to most, if not all, of the others in that group, too. I wondered what they all thought about it now that they'd had some time to think things through. And I wondered how others in the tribe were feeling about this, too, after hearing how Billy had acted both before and after his affair. Was he finally going to step up and do the right thing, or just keep trying to ignore it all? Maybe I'd get to find out today. But to do that, I'd just have to trust my daughter and her boyfriend to continue being responsible and hope that they would do the right thing. I thought I could count on Embry for that-given how his own existence came about. But then again, he was a teenaged guy, and I wasn't so much a stick-in-the-mud that I didn't remember what guys were like at that age.

I hoped for answers from Billy, but when I pulled into Harry's driveway, it was clear that I wouldn't be getting any of those answers today.

"Billy called to say he wasn't feeling too good this morning," Harry told me. "Said he was sorry to bail on us, but for us to have a good time anyway and catch a few fish for him."

"Uh huh," I wasn't convinced by that, and clearly Harry felt the same way. But we didn't say anything more about it until we were out on the lake, poles out, baited, and in the water.

"He said anything more about it? About Embry?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I haven't asked. Haven't seen Billy since the council meeting, truth be told."

"How could something like this happen, Harry? How could Billy cheat on his wife, and then reject the son that resulted?"

Harry sighed heavily. "I wish I knew, Charlie. Spirits, I wish I knew. I would have expected this from Josh Uley. I'd even have considered Caleb Lahote, my brother Michael, or Sue's brother Lucas as candidates for something like this before I'd have suspected Billy."

"What happens now?"

Twitching his fishing pole, Harry rubbed his face with his free hand. "I wish I knew that, too. Embry will be enrolled as a member of the tribe, there's no question about that. Somehow, we'll have to do whatever we can to help him accept things; same thing for Jacob."

"And Billy?"

"I'll talk to Old Quil and to Sam about that, and to Tiffany and Embry, too. Reparations will have to be made somehow-but honestly, Charlie, how in the world can anything we impose on Billy ever make up for what he did-and what he didn't do?"

It was my turn to sigh. The Native American custom of a guilty person making amends to those they'd wronged was alien to my law enforcement standard of the guilty being punished for their crimes, but most of Billy's misdeeds weren't ones that any legal system was designed to address. Okay, granted, Tiffany could have taken-and still could-Billy to court for unpaid child support, but other than that...? I didn't see her doing that, though. Not that Billy didn't deserve to be publicly held to account for the son he'd never claimed, but Tiffany and Embry didn't deserve to have their reputations dragged through the mud in the process for only a small slice of Billy's disability income.

That idea about reparations made me think of other things; that, and Harry's comment that Embry would be acknowledged as part of the Quileute tribe. "Harry, if Embry becomes a member of the tribe, you're going to have to say how, aren't you?"

"Ah, hell," he groaned. Clearly, that was something he hadn't fully thought about before now.

"Have Billy's girls been told yet? Do Rachel and Rebecca know about Embry being their brother?"

"I don't think so—not unless Billy called them, and I doubt he'd have done that. They left here years ago the second they legally could and haven't been back. Probably never will be if they can help it. I don't think either of them has kept up with many of their old friends, either. Leah was the exception and she's off at school now with Rachel and just as much in the dark about all this."

"Unless Bella says something to her about it—they got to be really good friends this summer, remember."

"I know, Charlie. But Sam Uley's been helping Embry out a lot lately, and with the history he and Leah have…would Bella bring it up given how Leah feels, knowing that sharing about Embry will bring the rest of it out, too?"

"She might not want to," I sighed, "but Bella hates being lied to, whether directly or by omission, and keeping this a secret from Leah would probably feel a lot like lying to her friend. Plus Bells is a terrible liar—even if she tried to, Leah likely would figure it out."

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Embry POV

I showed up at the Swan house long after Charlie left, backpack in tow in case any nosy neighbors decided to keep the chief apprised of activity at his home during his absence. The textbooks and spiral notebooks were going to remain zipped up, however, in the bag I dropped on the floor just inside the front door.

"Hungry?" Bella asked once the outside world had been shut away.

"Yeah. Oh, yeah, I'm hungry," I rumbled, advancing on my imprint with purpose.

"Emb-" my name turned into a squeal when the wolf swept the girl up into our arms and started a rapid ascent of the staircase.

"The...food...is...downstairs," Bella gasped out each word.

"What I want is right here," I contradicted. "I'm hungry for you."

"But-_oh!_" Objection trailed off when I pulled down the neckline of her camisole and commenced worshiping her breasts with my fingers and palms. Bella's hands alternated running through my cropped hair and clenching as much of it as she could when sensations overwhelmed her. Knowing how much I affected her made me consider growing my hair out at least a little bit and just accept any inconvenience it might cause in my animal form. Awareness returned to her eyes somewhat when I let her go long enough to strip off my shirt and all of her clothes. Bella gasped at the first contact of my blazing-hot body against her much cooler skin, writhing against me.

My wolf and I rumbled in pleasure, too. If we had our way, we'd be like this all the time. Nothing was better than having our imprint pressed against us—best of all if she was naked as she was now. I kissed my way from her lips, along her neck, and down to her breasts. One of my hands snaked between us to delve into the cleft of her legs, stroking, rubbing…

"Emb-ry," moaned Bella. "Need…mrr."

I needed more, too. In a blur, I rolled both of us over, coming to rest on my back with Bella suspended over me. "Ride me, Bella," I growled, plunging her down onto me and forcing a strangled scream out of her throat. Bella's head arched backward, her hair brushing against the tops of my thighs in an erotic whisper of movement. Moments later, her hair blinded me when her body bowed over mine.

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Bella POV

Embry and I lay on our sides, spooned together so that his body heat soaked right through me—the warmest I'd been since leaving Phoenix. I'd happily stay like this forever if it was possible—but it wasn't. He'd have to leave later to run his patrol, though he promised to come back as soon as it was done and stay until my dad got home.

"Hungry?" I murmured the question.

"Always," replied Embry. For which answer he got a feeble swat against the arm he had draped over me.

"What?" he protested. "It's true. I _am_ always hungry—both for food, and for you."

"Well, you've had me—more than once already today. So it's time for food." I started trying to extricate myself from the bed, but didn't stand a chance when Embry tugged me back against him. "I'm hungry, too," I explained. "We both need to eat—and I would love to have a shower."

The ravenous look in his eyes softened. "I'm pushing again, right?"

"No, not really," I assured him. "I want you, too. I'm just not quite as tough as you are. But get me some food and a shower, and…maybe…we can…fit in…once…more…before you leave." My fingers trailed along his arm.

"In the shower?" Embry wheedled.

"Uh," I was nonplussed, trying to figure out how it would work. Though, judging from the wickedly mirthful expression Embry sported, I probably didn't need to worry. And indeed I didn't. Embry's body anchored me against the shower wall and ensured that I would fall asleep that night in satiated satisfaction.

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AN: I'd apologize for not having this, but I just didn't have the time over my Christmas break that I'd hoped to. But I've got this done now, and (fingers crossed) I ought to have a long-awaited update to "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Hot" up this week as well.

Readers: If you have any good ideas on what kind of restitution Billy and Jake could be called on to make (to Embry, Tiffany, tribe, etc.), let me know in your review. Let's keep it legal and non-lethal, though.


	50. Making Amends

**Guest (ch.49):** Thanks for taking the time to read and to reply, even anonymously. Here are the answers to your questions: No, the plotline for this story hasn't changed for me. I sometimes foreshadow things that are coming in the story, but I also have something of an official policy of not giving spoilers for what's on the way, so sometimes you'll see plot events coming and other times they might be a complete surprise. And no, this piece hasn't lost its direction. I'm still working things along the path I want the characters and events to travel and we'll get to the destination eventually. I don't know everything little thing that will be included in this story (even I can be surprised sometimes with how things unfold), but I do have a general plan. Fair warning: I don't do short and abrupt stories, so if you're looking for something fast-paced and direct, this probably isn't the story for you and I'm probably not the author that you want to read. If you don't like how "Jagged Edges Heal" is going, then do what I did a few years ago: start writing your own Twilight fan fiction using your own unique ideas and make things turn out the way you want them to.

**Lenniem (ch.42)**: Yes, even if it was compelled, it still took courage for Jacob to really look at himself and see his words and actions clearly. He's now able to start his way back to being the good Jacob that people like. Glad you enjoyed it.

**Lenniem (ch.49):** Even if the pack is a tight and exclusive unit, they're still entitled to have other friends. After being isolated from his own friends after they phased, Embry's going to make damned sure that he doesn't do the same thing to his own non-wolf friends (if if they were Bella's friends first). I do have plans for everyone, so you'll just have to stay tuned to see if your guess/hope is right or wrong—all I'll say is that anything is possible. Yes, Billy is quite the piece of work. Even if he may have said that he kept quiet for Sarah's sake, he does seem to have been motivated more by his own self-interest and standing in the community. Finances aside (and clearly Tiffany was able to care for her son on her own just fine), there was still a lot that Billy could have done for Embry that he chose not to do-not the least of which would have been to make a private acknowledgment of his paternity. No, Billy hasn't helped Jake much, either. Making Jake reject his friend, filling his head with that Alpha stuff... Good question as to whether Billy deserves to keep what he's got (what he was willing to lie to be able to keep). He certainly isn't setting a good example for anyone. Hope this new update came soon enough.

**Guest(2) (ch.49)**: Thanks. Glad you love the story. Regarding your Cullen question: I can't say anything specific. But...stay tuned. I do have some nice little plans percolating for later on in the story.

AN: This chapter's delays can be credited to...writer's block, a very busy schedule, some serious life-thinking, and becoming an auntie again (to a beautiful little niece this time). Hopefully this nice long chapter makes up for the delay and starts to move things along in the story. But as always, I will keep plugging away and update as often as I can. Thanks to whoever nominated this story to the Twilight Non-Canon Awards! I'm thrilled that "Jagged Edges Heal" won gold for Best Tear-jerker.

Also, this year's Tricky Raven author/artist auction is now underway until April 21), and yours truly is one of the authors up for bid. If you have a hankering for me to create a one-shot fanfiction story with a pairing/plot of your choice (within my parameters listed on the auction page), then head over to the Tricky Raven site and put a bid in on me. There are many other great people available for bidding also, so check them out.

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Bella POV

Embry had just left for his daily patrol shift and I was forcing myself to do a bit of studying, as my math teacher had threatened a pop quiz first thing in class on Monday. The ringing of my cell phone was a welcome distraction.

"Hi, Leah."

"Hey, Bella! How's life as a senior?"

"It's fine so far. Having Embry at school with me part of the day is great. One look from him, and those annoying high school boys scurry for cover."

She laughed. "That's definitely a good thing. Glad it's working out for you."

"Me, too. So, how are things going for you? All settled in? Do you like your job? Ready for your classes to start?"

"Slow down, girl. It's all good. Pretty much unpacked and organized now. Job's going just fine. A lot to learn, but it's good. Rach and I are getting to know each other again. I'd almost forgotten how much I missed her when she moved away. I get why she did it-and if I'm honest about things, I feel a lot like she said she did. Getting away from a bad situation, being someplace totally new and different...it's like I've got a whole new lease on life. Like I dumped all the crap I was carrying on the side of the highway and drove off without it."

I considered what Leah had just said. Moving away to college _had_ let her leave behind the whole mess of having been dumped by Sam with no reasonable explanation of why it happened or why her dad wasn't after Sam's blood, and then on top of it all, she'd then had to watch him immediately start an intense relationship with Emily, marry her, and have a baby. Jumping ship to a new city and starting over would be the perfect time for a blank state of a fresh start. "That's great," I finally replied. "I'm glad for _you_ that moving away is working out for you."

"Was it that way for you when you moved up to Washington?"

"Not really, I don't think. I liked life in Arizona, my school and my friends. I even liked Mom and Phil, even if Mom's spaciness bugged me sometimes. I just ended up feeling like I was in the way with them being newlyweds and all. In some ways, I really didn't want to move up here. Charlie and I hadn't spent much time together in-well, forever-so that was going to be awkward, him being all parental on a full-time basis."

"Going from a carefree bachelor to father of a teenage daughter," Leah said. "Classic circumstances for overcompensating."

"Yeah. So there was that adjustment process, the nightmare of starting at new school that was so much smaller than my old one, classes where I already knew the material from taking advanced classes in Phoenix, my disaster of a dating relationship..."

"That dating debacle is in your past now. I bet that Embry is miles above what that other guy was like."

"Absolutely."

"So is he still taking good care of you?" Leah's tone dripped with innuendo.

My face automatically flamed in response. Oh boy, Embry certainly did look after me. Even now, a day later, my body still heated up at the mere memory of what he'd done for and to me yesterday. My boldness in riding him the way he'd commanded me to...

(flashback)

_Where did he learn this? _I barely had time to wonder. For that matter, I barely cared. Whether it was from Paul's magazines, Paul himself, or someone else in that pack mind of theirs, all that soon mattered was how what Embry had learned made me feel. His new muscles lifted me up and down without effort, and the sensations thus evoked from sliding along his dick were mind-blowing.

Tightening my core muscles experimentally caused Embry to growl commandingly "Do that again" in a deep voice that vibrated clear through my body. So I did. Again and again. Before long, he was bucking underneath me, and only his grip on my hips kept me from sailing off the bed like a rodeo rider as we both orgasmed.

And then the shower...would I ever be able to use that bathroom again without remembering how it felt to be held against the acrylic surface of the shower surround and fucked into oblivion? The contrast of cool plastic behind me and hot flesh in front of me, inside me? Could I watch my father walk into his own bathroom without turning fire-engine red with knowing what Embry and I had done in there?

(end of flashback)

"Earth to Bella! Hello?"

"What?"

"Where did you disappear to, girl?"

"Inside my head, probably."

"Guess that answers my question, huh?"

"Question?"

Leah laughed. "Yep. Embry's taking _very_ good care of you."

"Yeah," I admitted softly.

Taking pity on me, Leah asked, "So what else has been going on in the thriving Forks metropolitan area?"

What a loaded question that was. So much _had_ happened lately, but little of it was stuff I could share with Leah. "Well..." I stalled, trying to rapidly decide what I could say and what I shouldn't. "Embry and I went with a group of kids from Forks-and Quil-to Lake Crescent near Port Angeles last weekend."

"What? Did Quil return from the dark side?"

"He and Embry are trying to rebuild their friendship," I prevaricated. "He did help keep those irritating guys at bay during the trip-I think Jess and Angela were just as grateful as Embry and me were."

"Good for them," Leah sounded doubtful. I couldn't tell her that I knew Quil and Embry would be fine, not without mentioning the whole Sam situation and-

"So if Quil isn't leaving the dark side-Sam's side," Leah continued, almost psychically following my thoughts, "is Embry joining it?"

Part of me wanted to lie about it, but the only one I'd be protecting by doing that would be myself, which was selfish and not in my nature any more than lying was. "Sam Uley _has_ been helping Embry out lately, so yes, we have spent a bit of time with him and his friends."

"Sam helped Embry? With what?" my friend's voice was too even.

"Rachel must not have said anything. Or maybe she doesn't know yet-he might not have told her-probably hasn't-and probably no one else would have wanted to even if they knew her number or email-which maybe they don't and-"

"Bella Swan, what the hell are you babbling about? He, who? Told who, what?" Leah's sharp questions snapped me out of my semi-hysterical rambling.

"Embry found out who his dad was-is."

"And _Sam_ is helping with this somehow?"

"He knows what it's like to have his dad reject him-but Sam was luckier than Embry: at least his dad left La Push."

Leah waited me out in silence, until I finally had to say it. "Billy is Embry's father. Embry is Jake's brother, and Rebecca's and Rachel's, too."

"Holy shit," she breathed. "How did Embry find out?"

Damn it, how was I supposed to explain that? It wasn't like I could say that it had happened after both guys had turned into giant wolves. Inspiration hit me like a lightning bolt. "Jake showed up at my place a bit over a week ago-I guess he got sick of me ignoring his calls-and ambushed me into admitting how close Embry and I were by then. Jake freaked out over it and went after Embry. They had a knockdown drag-out fight and got hauled in front of the tribal council because of it. Billy tried to act all high and mighty, Tiffany Call reacted to something he said, and Embry put two and two together."

"Shit," repeated Leah.

"Yeah, pretty much. Embry's pissed at pretty much everyone except for me, his mom, and Paul-maybe Jared, too. And Sam, I guess. _Everyone_ is pissed at Billy. Jake's trying to make things up to Embry now, but that's floating as well as a giant boulder-though maybe at least some of that is because of Billy rather than Jake himself."

"Understandable. Jake's the son everyone knew about, the son Billy chose to acknowledge. Embry's have to be a saint to not resent that."

"Yeah, that probably is a little part of it. It's not all of the problem, though-Jake said and did some pretty crappy stuff himself to Embry over the past few weeks, so he deserves some of what Embry's giving him now."

"No doubt. They were best friends for so long that they'd both know exactly how to get under each others' skin in the worst possible way."

After a little while, the silence started to get awkward.

"Are we okay, Leah?"

"With what? Your boyfriend secretly being genetic member of the Black family? Nothing any of us can do about that, so why would I kick up a fuss?"

"I guess I really meant us spending time with Sam. With what happened..."

"To me, Bella. Not to you. I'm flattered-in a sense-that you are concerned enough with me and how I feel to not want to upset me. But I'm not there in La Push anymore, Bella, and even if I was...you're practically an adult now, and that means that no one-not your parents or even your friends-should be able to dictate who you spend time with, or who your boyfriend associates with. If Sam's able to help Embry now with all this crap, then that's a good thing. If you're supporting Embry and being around the Uley's is part of how you do it, then that's okay, too-Embry's the one who matters."

My sigh was involuntary and heartfelt. "Thanks. I know Embry needs this, but I also realize that Sam's a sensitive subject for you."

"He is. I'm going to work hard to make that 'he was' this year. But this isn't about me, it's about Embry and you. Seems like Embry needs all the help and support he can get right now, and if Sam can give it then it'd be pretty petty of me to stand in the way of that, history or no history. I can't begin to imagine how Embry must be feeling right now, so I'm grateful that he-and you, too-has someone to turn to for this. Now, am I going to hang out with Sam and company if I'm back in town...? Probably not. Maybe not. We'll see."

"You can always find a hot new boyfriend at college and bring him back to show him off," I suggested. "That might be worth you being in the same room as Sam."

"There is that," agreed Leah. The silence this time was more thoughtful. Then she said, "In answer to your earlier rambling, no, Rachel hasn't said anything about Embry to me. She doesn't hold back what she's thinking, so I'm sure she doesn't know. You want me to tell her?"

Did I? I didn't know. She clearly had a right to know that she had another younger brother, and moreover that he was someone she'd seen a good bit of while they'd been growing up. But...it wasn't my responsibility to tell her, or Leah's. It was Billy's job. The question now was, would he do it, or bury his head in the sand again like before?

"You lost in your head again?" Leah asked.

"No, I was just thinking of an answer. And I don't have one." I shared my thoughts on the subject.

"You're right. I don't want to be in the line of fire for this anymore than you do. This is going to be as epic as a monster Pacific storm. A tribal chief cheating on his wife with another woman and then not claiming the son she bore him?" Leah whistled. "There are a lot of people who'll be upset and angry and disappointed with him over that. Let me do some thinking. Do my parents know?"

"Yeah. They were both at the meeting."

"Okay. I might see what they have to say. _Someone's_ going to have to tell the twins, and sooner rather than later to keep World War III from erupting. Billy might be safer from Rebecca, since she's all the way out in Hawaii, but Rachel..."

"I know. I'm just glad it doesn't have to be me telling them."

"Yep. This one isn't on you, girl, so don't you dare even think about feeling guilty or selfish about it."

"I won't."

"See that you do-or that you don't, in this case. Damn. I've got to run or I'm going to be late for work."

"I have to get back to my homework anyway. Thanks for calling, Leah. It was nice to talk this stuff over."

"Anytime."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jake POV

I walked up to the front door of Embry's house, more nervous than I'd probably ever been in my entire life. He wasn't home-which was why I'd chosen this time-but his mom was there. I owed Tiffany Call the apology that the council and Sam had dictated, and I figured doing it without Embry around would be best and safest-for both of us.

What little confidence I had took a big hit when Embry's mom opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" the question was curt and totally not like how she had always greeted me in the past.

"I need to apologize."

"Apologize? Do you think that an apology will change anything?"

My head dropped. "I know it won't change how Embry feels about me, or how he feels about my-our-dad. But I need to do this. It's the right thing for me to do."

"He isn't here."

"I know that. I thought it might be best to do this without him."

"What did you say to my son?"

Shame filled me again to think about the words-really just that one word that I'd kept on throwing at Embry, knowing how it would burn and slice at him. My first instinct was to try and sugar-coat my behavior, but I knew enough about Embry's mom to know that I wouldn't get by with it. Besides, if I was trying to keep the promises I'd made to myself and Taha Aki to be a better person, the person I wanted to be, then glossing over what I'd said wasn't the way to do it.

"I kept throwing 'bastard' in his face," I finally admitted.

"And why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted him to be hurting as badly as I was and I knew that would do it."

"Bella," Tiffany said.

"Yeah," my reply fell heavily between us.

"Before they got together, Embry was concerned about how you'd react. But with how you were treating him-treating both of them-I said that he didn't need to make his choices based on what would or wouldn't make you happy. You hadn't made any kind of formal declaration of interest, and even if you had, Bella was free to make her own decisions about who she wanted to be with."

"I know that. I guess I knew it then, too, but...everything in my life had gone to hell, and Bella was this good thing I could cling to. Feeling like I didn't know who I was anymore, all the changes, having to stay away from her-from them both-Sam telling me what he thought was going to happen...it all just came together and...It turned into a hell of a mess," I offered a wan smile.

"Yes, it did," she agreed. "Perhaps at least some of the blame for that mess does lie with others and what they told you. I might-just might-even go as far as to say that Embry and Bella might also have fanned the flames a little higher than necessary-but most of it does rest on your shoulders, Jacob. You chose how to react to what you were told and experienced, you chose what to say and do yourself. Other can't be blamed for that."

"No, that stuff was on me. I'm sorry for it. I had no right to act like that." And I _was_ sorry. Thinking back on my behavior evoked a sense of shame that would stick with me for quite I while, or so I expected.

"Is there anything else you feel the need to confess, Jacob?"

"I-" Even though Embry himself had already told her-told everyone in the council meeting the other night-what else I'd said, making this admission technically unnecessary, there was a little voice in my head reminding me that I had a lot to make up for, and this was part of it.

"Something about me?" Tiffany probed a little harder when I couldn't say anything.

"Yes," I whispered.

"About my morals-or lack of them?"

A nod was all I could manage.

"I don't owe you-or anyone else for that matter-an explanation of whatever did or didn't occur between myself and my son's genetic father, and I'm not going to give one. But...think about this, Jacob: I could have made a scene when I came here. I could have shouted to the world that Billy Black, La Push's golden son, had cheated on his wife and was the father of my unborn child. I didn't do that. I didn't flinch at the scorn and censure that was sent my way by strangers who looked down on me for being an unwed young mother. I accepted the responsibility of raising my son on my own. Even though Embry had just as much right to anything as you or your sisters to whatever Billy could provide, I never demanded anything. I went out of my way to make sure that I didn't become a homewrecker or a burden to this tribe who'd taken me in when my own rejected me. I did all that-and what have I gotten in return? My son is now viewed as an outsider by people who've known him his whole life-and it'll only get worse if the truth comes out. We both know that. Embry and I will both be blamed-" She broke off, eyes looking at me but not really seeing me. What _was_ she seeing? Or was it _who_? Did she see Billy when she looked at me? Abruptly, Tiffany spun away and vanished in the direction of her bedroom. After a few seconds, I stood up and left. I'd done what I needed to here today, and she needed to be alone. Even from here, I could smell the salt of her tears and the quiet hitching of her breaths. Had I made her cry? Great, something else for Embry to be pissed at me for. Or was it just what she remembered? Something else? 

Turning into the woods, I walked aimlessly. Tiffany Call was right in what she'd said. Things were sure to get a lot worse before they ever looked to get any better. Because of me, Embry had already been the target of gossip and dirty looks this summer, just from our broken friendship and him starting to date Bella. It wouldn't stop-especially not now that Embry had phased and looked so much like the rest of us now. People were going to notice and start trying to puzzle it out. And while the meetings dealing with Embry's true heritage had been kept closed-door, that wasn't going to last. In a place as small as La Push, gossip took root with the speed of a forest fire in the middle of a summer drought. Sooner or later-and it was sure to be on the sooner end-the truth would spread out beyond the close ranks of the council and pack parents, and the rest of the tribe would learn that Embry was my dad's secret son. When it did...? A hellish shit-storm for sure. Something that neither my half-brother nor his mom deserved.

_I could have made a scene when I came here. I didn't_, Tiffany had said. Reading between the lines, I guessed that she hadn't known Billy was married when they'd hooked up, or whatever it had been-and she was right that I didn't need to know details; I didn't _want_ to know details. She'd come here, maybe to reconnect with Billy, maybe just to tell him about her baby, only to find out he was married and already had a family. And so she'd kept quiet about Embry's paternity. Just for her own sake? For my mom's? Was that why Dad hadn't acknowledged Embry? Because he would've had to confess his sins to Mom? That excuse didn't hold water now, and hadn't for half my life. So why hadn't he-or she, for that matter-done anything after Mom had died? Not like anything could have hurt her then.

_It wouldn't have mattered_, I realized. _People aren't stupid. They'd be able to do the math and know Embry's only a few months younger than me. They'd know Dad cheated. He didn't want to lose face in front of the tribe._

Well, he was about to not have a choice in the matter. Maybe it was a long-delayed sense of maturity, but the thought of Embry being shamed for something that wasn't his fault, of him not getting the recognition due him-it suddenly burned in my chest.

"Embry is my brother," the words were spoken aloud this time. The first time? I couldn't remember. Probably so. "I have a brother."

Approaching the height of the cliff the pack sometimes jumped from, I found a good spot and settled down. Maybe this would have to become my new "spot", if Embry and Bella kept spending some of their time on the beach. Yeah, I know, only a few days ago I was planning to re-stake my claim on that chunk of driftwood, but maybe finding a new spot was something else I could do to be making things up to Embry.

_What __**would**__ you say about all of this, Mom?_ I wondered. Sometimes it was hard to remember things about her, with as long as I'd lived without her in my life. But I did recall how she'd always made my friends feel welcome at our house. She'd probably have welcomed Embry with open arms. How she'd have felt about her husband was something else, though. That thought didn't make me feel any better. Dad had cheated and then rejected Embry just so he wouldn't have to explain anything to Mom. Coward. If he hadn't been willing to accept consequences for his actions, he shouldn't have done them in the first place.

I was most of the way home when a voice called out to me, "Jacob!" I turned to find out who it was, and saw Seth Clearwater running over.

"Yeah, Seth?"

"Dad called your house to talk to you, only you weren't home."

"I was taking care of something. What does he want?"

Seth gave me an incredulous look. "To talk to you," he repeated.

"Now?" I checked.

"No, next year," Seth retorted, like a typical pre-teen.

"Okay, I'll head over."

"Have fun," he called over his shoulder, already running flat out again. Yeah, right, I'd have fun. Like having a cavity filled is fun. I had a feeling that it was Tribal Elder Clearwater asking to see me, not just Harry Clearwater-and I had a pretty good idea of why. It had been a few days since the council meeting where I'd been called to judgment for my recent behavior, and my punishment had yet to be assigned.

Reaching the house, I rapped on the door and waited to be let in.

"Hello, Jacob. I see Seth found you."

"Yeah. I was...I wasn't home because I went to apologize to Embry's mom."

"Good. Did she accept it?'

I nodded.

"It is a good thing for you to have done."

"But it's only a start, I know that."

"Yes, that is true. Still, a good beginning is the right foundation to build upon."

"And how will I be doing that building?"

"We have not yet been able to meet with Tiffany Call, so I cannot say what you may be requested to do

for her in addition to your apology. As for Embry and Bella...have you made any overtures to them yet?"

"Embry isn't around me if he can help it-neither is Bella. I'm trying to be friendly again at school and in the pack meetings. I don't know what difference it will make, but it's what I can think of to do. I don't want to push him-or Bella- like I was doing before, so I'm putting it out there and letting Embry decide what to do-even if that means ignoring me."

"Good, good," Harry looked at me approvingly. "Your friendships were not damaged in one moment; neither will the restoration be instantaneous. But if you continue to prove your sincerity, they will be able to see the truth in your apologies."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Narrator POV

Tiffany Call had had plenty of time to master her emotions and present a calm face before her son came home. From the grin on his face and bounce in his step, she suspected Embry must have sneaked in a quick visit to see Bella after he'd finished his patrol shift, even though he'd seen her at school before it had started. Both the grin and the bounce faded away when he got into the living room and took a deep breath.

"What the hell was he doing here?"

"Watch your language," Tiffany chastised.

"I am."

"He just stopped by to apologize."

"Apologize? Jacob? Yeah, right."

"Embry! Cut this out! This isn't who I raised you to be. I realize you've been hit with a lot lately-and I'm sorry for my part in all of it-but this attitude isn't like you."

"And who am I? I've been turned inside out and had everything else flipped upside down and backward. Everything I thought I knew was shattered, and 'reality' now is something out of a Hollywood sci-fi movie."

"You are my son. That has never changed and never will. You are Bella's boyfriend, her-imprint," she tried out the unfamiliar word, "and that's something that won't change either, right?"

"No, the imprint won't change-I will marry her one day, though."

That kept Tiffany quiet for a minute. Mothers generally didn't expect their seventeen-year-old sons to talk about getting married. But Embry had always been the sort of boy to say what he meant and mean what he said. Not that Tiffany would complain about the idea of having Bella as her daughter-in-law. She and Embry really were perfect for each other, and Tiffany's mother-heart was glad that her son had such a good young woman in his life. Finally, "So that's two things that won't change."

Embry sighed heavily. "I know, Mom. But I can't forget about everything else that _did _change."

It was her turn to take in and release a deep breath. "And _I_ know _that_. If I'd had any idea that _not_ telling you who fathered you would turn into such a big mess, maybe I would have said something years ago. But I didn't suspect anything like what's happened."

"Nobody did," Embry assured his mother, feeling bad that she clearly felt so guilty about it. "Sam and the others said so after I first phased. They couldn't figure out how I'd been able to do it, what with me being half Makah through you."

"Do they have any theories now?"

"They figure it had something to do with Ephraim Black being Alpha of the last pack a few generations ago. Strong blood-ties probably outweighed my lack of pure ancestry. Whatever. It is what it is."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bella POV

To say that the atmosphere in the Saturday morning pack meeting was tense was the understatement of the year. The state of cold war between Embry and Jake was still in full effect, at least on Embry's part. When Jake arrived, I held my breath, not sure what would happen.

"Hey, guys. Embry. Bella. Thanks, Emily."

"Hey, Jake," several of the others replied. I nodded, but didn't look in Jake's direction. Embry pointedly ignored him. Everyone's heads swung to Jake, watching to see how he'd react. In a move that seemed to surprise several of them and appeared to pleas Sam immensely-or so I judged, based on the brief smile that graced his lips-Jake just accepted the cold-shoulder response and took his seat.

"Okay," Sam began. "We're all going to go out for a while this afternoon. With half the pack being new, we need to have a group practice session. Jared, I want you to take Paul and Embry and swing east up through the Olympic forest. I'll take Quil and Jake and we'll take the western side of the loop. We'll have the new wolves practice using what their senses tell them, acting and reacting in the pack mind, and then bring our two groups together for the trip home. Everybody clear on the plan?"

Affirmitive answers were given by the pack. Sam gestured them all toward the door. Sam detoured to kiss Emily goodbye and toss his baby son up in the air before hugging him. Embry pulled me to my feet and tilted my head backward. He bent down and claimed my lips. Unconsciously, my hands slid up his arms to lock around the back of his neck. My eyelids drifted closed and the world faded away. As always, everything else retreated into insignificance in the background. Blazing heat caressed me, filled me. I took it and offered it back, along with a soft breathless moan.

"Embry!" I jerked in shock when his name was spoken in a deep voice. Sam's voice. "Time to go."

"I'll see you soon," Embry told me, before following Sam out the door.

"I'd ask how you two are doing," Emily chuckled, "but I don't need to. Obviously, you're doing just fine."

"We are. At least, as well as we can be, considering everything. All the revelations," I elaborated.

"Ah. Yes. Well, if there's anything that either Sam or I can do to help, _please_ let us know."

"We will. What's our plan for today while the guys are gone?"

"I'm going to drop Levi off at Sam's mom's house for some play time, and you and I will go over to Jared and Kim's place. I can't remember if anyone's mentioned it to you or not, but Kim is pregnant. She's due around New Year's and seems to be one of the unfortunate one's who are sick all the way through. I thought we could give her a hand with some cleaning and household chores."

"Do they need any food? That's something I'm good at."

"I know that their families, and others-including me-have been helping Kim and Jared with that, considering how sick she's been. We can check and see what they've got on hand and anything that they might need. It's probably best to cook stuff at our homes and then take the food over so that the smells don't bother Kim."

I helped Emily gather up some cleaning supplies and pull some food from the fridge and freezer. Then it was time to chase down her son and leave.

"No, no, no!" Levi's volume increased with each repetition of the word.

"Yes, yes, yes," Emily countered. "You have to sit in your seat or we can't go see Grandma."

"Gamma!" This squeal was the loudest yet.

"Yes, Grandma. Now, sit still so I can buckle you up."

"I guess he doesn't like the carseat," I observed as Emily turned the key in the ignition.

"No, but then most toddlers don't. They don't like being confined. But he'll learn that it's one of the non-negotiable things in life. There will be plenty of other things that I'll let him express an opinion of, so he can stand to have a few things be without discussion."

In short order, we arrived at a small house from which emerged a middle-aged woman.

"Hi, Alison," Emily greeted her mother-in-law as she simultaneously opened the rear door of the car to start releasing her son. "You remember Bella, don't you? Shoot, no, you wouldn't-you were watching Levi for us during that council meeting. Sorry. Alison, this is Embry Call's girlfriend, Bella Swan, from Forks. Bella, this is Sam's mom, Alison Uley. Alison, Levi's in good form today but hopefully he won't be too much trouble. Thank you so much for watching him for me."

"Hello, Bella. It's nice to meet you. Welcome to our crazy little world here. I hope you're getting used to everything."

"Thank you. It's nice to me you, too. I guess I'm adapting alright."

"Good. Emily, watching Levi is no trouble. I love getting to spend time with my grandson. Wave bye-bye to Mommy," Alison helped Levi with the gesture and took him inside as Emily and I drove off.

It never took long to get anywhere in La Push, so we arrived at Jared and Kim's little cottage in no time. Walking right on in, we found Kim stretched out on the couch.

"Hi girls."

"Hi, Kim. How are you feeling today?"

"Okay. Better than most days."

"I'm glad. But you just stay right where you're at so you keep feeling this good. Bella and I will take care of things."

Emily got to work in the kitchen area and I started tidying up the living room with Kim pointing out where things went.

"Sorry about the mess. I just haven't been up to doing much housework, and Jared's so busy with patrolling and then working when he can..."

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to help."

"Thank you. I'll make it up to you sometime. Maybe when you're expecting your first child-years from now, of course."

I remembered Embry-or someone-having said that Jared and Kim had only just graduated high school this year and would be having their baby less than a year later. "Do you wish..." I wasn't sure how to ask it or even if I should. Kim knew what I meant anyway, though.

"Do I wish we'd waited a little longer? Honestly, sometimes, the answer would be 'yes'. We already love this baby," she hastened to add, "and we'll be the best parents we can be, but...I won't lie that it hasn't been, isn't, and won't be really hard, too. We both have parental support-though mine don't know anything about the pack-but they can't and won't do it all for us. We're young, and even if we might not have been able to leave for college, we still could have tried to do something locally. Now, I'm not sure when it will happen."

It made me sad and more than a bit angry to see how Kim seemed to be giving up on the idea of more education for herself or Jared. In the days since I'd learned of my own now-limited options, I had tried to think of things that Embry and I could do. If they were good enough for us, then they ought to shared.

"I do want kids-Embry's kids-someday, but I won't mind one little bit waiting a while to have them. As for college, maybe if enough people put their heads together, we can all come up with things that will work for all of us. Bartering babysitting for food or chores or something. If you want to take some classes, you ought to do it. All of us should. We'll just have to figure out the details sometime."

"Yeah. Doesn't have to be today, does it?" Kim offered a small smile.

"Nope."

"So, tell me a little about yourself?" requested Kim.

"Well..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Paul POV

Embry and I followed Jared as he started an easy lope through the forest.

_How you doing, Embry? _Jared asked.

_Okay. It's like looking at a wall of TV's at an electronics store, where they're all on different channels._

I laughed. _Yeah, I guess that is a good way of looking at the pack mind. Really good way, actually. Just pick one TV to focus on-yours or someone else's, it doesn't matter._

_Good idea, Paul, _thought Jared. _You two stay here. I'll head off and then, Embry, you try to find me using what you get from me in the pack mind._

He sprinted off, his contribution to the pack mind blurring with the speed. Every so often Jared would slow down and focus on something-an unusual tree or large boulder or change in terrain-that Embry could use as route markers.

_Alright, come find me._

_Use what he gave you,_ I coached, _but don't forget to use your senses, too. He'll have left behind a scent trail._

I was pretty impressed with how quickly Embry did find the spot where Jared was waiting. He'd picked up speed the more confident he got, but to his credit Embry hadn't been _too_ sure of his own abilities that he risked overlooking something or falling for one of Jared's fake trails.

_That was good. Okay, let's keep going. Lots more forest to cover._

_Yuck!_ Embry's thoughts blurted. _Vampire!_

_Is it fresh?_ demanded Sam.

_I don't think so, _replied Embry. _But I'm the new kid here-what do I know?_

_You know a lot, even with being the newest wolf, _Jared reminded him. _Focus on the scent. The stronger it is, the fresher it is. Faded means it's an old scent._

_Old, _Embry decided. _Doesn't smell quite as bad as that one in the meadow._

_Must be a trace of one of the Cullen coven, _I judged. _They don't smell __**quite**__ as bad as the human-drinkers. But bloodsuckers still smell gross no matter what they drink._

_Track it for a while, _Sam ordered us. _Let's see where they went that time. We'll start heading your way to meet up._

Conversation largely ceased while our subset of the pack tracked this scent and Sam's group moved to join us. We broke into a more open area in the forest and felt a gust of wind ruffle our pelts. Suddenly, all my instincts were at full attention.

_Fuck! Smell that? Leech! It's her._

I veered off in the direction the wind had come from, Jared and Embry immediately turning to follow me. Through the pack mind, I could tell that Sam, Quil, and Jacob were also shifting course.

_She's heading south,_ I judged.

_There she is! _Jared growled, his keen eyesight letting him find her moments before the rest of us could. The long curly red hair flowed behind her and her clothes whipped around her body from the force of her spin to a new direction of travel.

_She's gonna run for it,_ called Jared. _Sam, pincer in and let's see if we can catch her this time. Paul, spread out some. Embry, you too, but not too far from us-you haven't taken on one of them before._

We pounded through the forest after her, all of us eager to rip her to shreds. None of us was more eager than Embry, though.

_You wanted my girlfriend dead? _he thought. _Well, let me return the favor._

The chase zig-zagged and criss-crossed the Olympic Forest. This leech was clever and determined, I'd give her that. Always one step ahead of us, almost like she could tap into the pack mind and know what we were going to try as soon as we thought about it. Eventually we had to pull up at the edge of a ravine and watch her land on the other side.

_Let her go,_ Sam decreed with reluctance. _There's no way down for us here, much less up the other side, and by the time we found a river crossing she'll be long gone. Everyone will need to keep an extra sharp eye out on patrols now. She's clearly come back around from wherever she was. We __**will not**__ let her past us._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

AN: I've been looking at this and looking, not entirely satisfied but not sure what else to do. I think I've decided that this chapter is fine as is, so I'm letting it go and handing it over to you all. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to let me know what you think.


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